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PHILOSOPHICAL CATECHISM 



NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 



n 

OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF VIENNA AND PARIS, ANI> 

LICENTIATE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF 

PHYSICIANS IN LONDON. 



SECOND EDITION, IMPROVED. 



* 



boston: 
marsh, capen and lyon. 

1832. 






Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 
1832, by Marsh, Capen and Lyon, in the Clerk's office of 
the District Court of Massachusetts . 



(O' 7 ' 






PREFACE. 



Men have long been treated as children; they 
have been taught that ignorance and credulity 
are virtues, and that fear is wisdom, and that they 
may glorify God by flattery rather than by mor- 
al excellency. Arbitrary regulations of all 
sorts have been imposed upon them, and blind 
and unconditional obedience to these required. 
Words too often satisfy them, and the less they 
understand, the more do they generally deem it 
incumbent on them to admire; sensual grati- 
fications have proved sufficient inducements for 
them willingly to follow the good pleasure of 
their masters. Even religion, in one or an- 
other form, has been an engine to crush the 
human mind. This was, at all times more or 
less the deplorable condition of mankind. Those 
who even in our days make exception, are com- 
paratively few in number. ^ 

The following pages are writen with a 
view to ascertain whether or not the hu- 
aoaan kind be susceptible of better treatment, 



IV PREFACE. 

and whether or not the arbitrary legislation of 
marl, that has hitherto been, and must always 
be, but temporary, and of limited application, 
might not advantageously give place to a code 
of immutable laws which, established by the 
Creator, and not adapted to a single family, to 
a particular nation, to an age, but to all man- 
kind, and to all times, are calculated to endure 
as long as the species remains. 

It is of the highest importance to demonstrate 
the existence of such laws, although it may 
happen that governments and nations them- 
selves will oppose their adoption. But this op- 
position will not annihilate the reality of the 
natural code, and communities will certainly 
feel disposed to receive, will even demand it, in 
proportion as they become enlightened; they 
will also be worthy of it in proportion as they 
become virtuous. 

I shall consider my subject under the form 
of question and answer, the better to fix the at- 
tention of my reader. My sole intention is to 
contribute to the amelioration of man; that is 
to say, to combat his ignorance and his immoral- 
ity, and to point out the means of making him 
better and happier, by insisting particularly on 



PREFACE. V 

the necessity of his fulfilling the laws of his 
Creator. 

Some may be of opinion that I might here 
have avoided the introduction of any question 
upon religion and morality. I, however, think 
it incumbent on a philosopher to examine all 
that enters into the nature of man, and to 'hold 
fast that which is good. 9 Now man being posi- 
tively endowed with moral and religious feel- 
ings, as well as with vegetative functions and 
intellectual faculties, it was my business to 
speak of the former as well as of the latter. Nay, 
true religion is central truth, and all know- 
ledge, in my opinion, should be gathered round 
it. 

I lament the continual war which philoso- 
phers, moralists, and divines, have hitherto 
waged. They have only mutually disparaged 
their inquiries, and retarded the knowledge and 
happiness of man. Would they consent to lay 
aside vanity, jpride, and self-interest, they would 
perceive, and might display, the harmony that 
exists between the will of God and his gift of 
intelligence. t 



PHILOSOPHICAL CATECHISM. 



GENERALITIES. 



What is the meaning of the word Philoso- 
pher ? 

It signifies Lover of Wisdom. 

And what is understood by Wisdom 1 ? 

Wisdom consists in the knowledge and in 
the application of Truth. 

Who then is truly a philosopher 1 ? 

He who not only loves, but wiio applies truth 
universally. The second part is as essential 
to the character of a philosopher, as is the 
practice of morality to that of a christian. 

What is the aim of Philosophy? 

To know objects and phenomena, and to 
show the possibility of making practical appli- 
cation of the knowledge acquired. 
1 



2 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Then there must be many kinds of philoso- 
phers? 

As many as there are species of knowledge, 
or subjects that can occupy the attention. — 
One may be a philosopher, and study entire 
nature, or a particular district of her domain; as 
animals, plants, minerals, man generally, or his 
physical, moral and intellectual parts in parti- 
cular. 

What is understood by a Law? 

The word law, among the Romans lex, has 
the same root as the verb signifying, to read; be- 
cause enactments for the conduct of the com- 
munity were promulgated of old by being read 
in public. For a long period, however, the 
word law has been used to designate a com- 
mandment to do, or to abstain from, some spe- 
cific act, in general combined with a clause 
expressive of some penalty attached to its in- 
fringement, and more rarely of some reward to 
its observance. The word law is also employ- 
ed to designate the inherent qualities of the ob- 
jects and the determinate manner in which the 
human faculties, and the qualities of organized 
and inanimate bodies, act. That is to say : be- 



GENERALITIES. 3 

ings can only act after their peculiar natures, or 
according to the qualities and powers with which 
they are endowed. It is a law, that a stone 
thrown into the air falls again till it reaches the 
ground; that the stomach digests; that the eye is 
the instrument of vision, the ear of hearing, &c. 
Further, the title law is applied to the regu- 
larity with which bodies and animated beings act 
upon each other, and produce certain phenom- 
ena. It is a law, that caloric united with wa- 
ter changes it into vapor, that fire consumes 
combustible bodies, that poisons destroy life; 
and so on, through the whole circle of natural 
phenomena. 

How may laws be divided 6 } 

They may be classed under two heads — the 
Natural, and the Artificial. The first are im- 
posed by the Creator, the second by individual 
governors. 

What is the signification of the word nature** 

Nature is a word to which three distinct 
meanings are attached: — 

1st, It designates the universe, — the heavens, 
the earth, all that meets sense: 

2nd, It expresses essence — that which char- 



4 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

acterizes or constitutes a class of beings, or 
individuality. In this sense we say: every be- 
ing acts according to its nature; — man in his 
nature is not an angel; we cannot change the 
nature of things; we cannot, for example, 
gather figs of thistles, nor grapes of thorns. 

3rd, It is used to signify the First Cause 
personified, and may then be considered as 
synonymous with God, or Creator. 

What are the characteristics of natural laws 
or of laws established J^luVrlatoT? 
( Natural laws are/ inherent in beings, often 
J evident, always demonstrable, universal, inva- 
riable, and harmonious. 
— *~ How is the first character of natural laics , 
their inherence , explained ? 

The laws of nature exist by creation, and 
enter as a part into the constitution of beings. 
The bile is secreted by the liver according to 
a natural law, and cannot be produced by the 
stomach for a similar reason. The stomach 
digests some substances by a natural law, and 
by the same cause does not digest others. 
Light exists in conformity with certain laws, 
and we cannot see that as great which is little, 



GENERALITIES. 5 

nor that as little which is great. The inher- 
ence of natural laws is therefore apparent. 

How is the second characteristic of natural 
laics, their regularity, to be apprehended ? 

The regularity of phenomena is so generally- 
evident as scarcely to require demonstration. 
Every one knows that without support his 
body falls, that his hand brought too near the 
fire is burned, that there is no vision without 
light, and so on. Occasionally, however, the 
natural laws are less apparent; still they may 
always be discovered by observation. The 
mechanician searches for, and finds, the laws 
of his art; the musician those of music; the 
colorist those of color; the landscape-painter 
those of perspective, &c. A great number of 
natural laws are at present unknown, but they 
will be detected as soon as truth is placed 
above every other consideration — as soon as 
the free employment of the understanding is 
allowed, and men have learned to combine all 
the characters of a natural law. 

How does the universality of natural laws 
appear ? 

They are the same m every country, Che- 
1* 



6 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

mistiy has no other laws in France than it has 
in England, or in any other part of the earth; 
carbonic acid gas kills men in the north and 
in the south, in the east and in the west; com- 
binations of color unharmonious in any one 
country, will not please the eye viewed by 
the sun of any other; the same laws pervade 
the music of every nation, of the English, 
French, Italians, Germans, &c. 

How are the natural laws invariable ? 
They have been the same in ail ages. The 
principle of the lever, at the present time, is 
precisely the same as it was when the Phara- 
ohs and Ptolemies lived; the rules of geome- 
try and arithmetic have suffered no change 
since they were applied by Euclid and Ar- 
chimedes; the beautiful forms of the Grecian 
marbles are still beautiful; goodness since the 
beginning has not ceased to be beneficent, and 
so on. Our knowledge may be more or less 
extensive, more or less exact, but the laws 
themselves never vary ? 

How are the natural laics harmonious? 
The Creator has contrived all things as parts 
of a grand whole, and combined all his enact- 



GENERALITIES. 7 

merits in perfect harmoniousness. Natural 
laws are, consequently, mutually aidant. It is 
ignorance alone that prompts us occasionally 
to fancy discrepancies among them. The 
laws of vegetation act in accordance with those 
of animalization. The fruits and substance of 
plants yield food to innumerable tribes of ani- 
mals, and the excretions and .the dead bodies 
of animals in return afford aliment to the infi- 
nite variety of vegetables that adorn the earth. 
The principle, that nothing is useless, is true 
physically, as it is morally. Hence it follows, 
that philosophy is to seek for, determine, and 
expose the harmony of the natural code. 

Are all inanimate and all living beings sub- 
ject to natural laws? 

All beings whatsoever have a determinate na- 
ture; all phenomena appear in conformity with 
fixed and invariable laws. Any opinion to 
the contrary is fraught with danger to man- 
kind. 

But do not toe degrade the being — man, for 
instance — whose nature ice pronounce to be de- 
terminate? 

Most certainly we do not. The nature of 



8 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

the Supreme being himself is determinate; he, 
for instance, cannot desire evil, for his nature 
is perfection. Now we can more readily 
conceive beings he made and endowed accord- 
ing to his pleasure possessed of a determinate 
nature. Without this indeed, there would be 
no regularity in their functions. 

As the natural laws are no where to be found 
reduced to loriting, how can we be certain of 
having discovered them? 

Observation and induction will lead secure- 
ly to their knowledge. We shall recognise them 
certainly when they possess all the distinguish- 
ing characters. 

Are the natural laws conformable to reason? 

They must necessarily be so. They pro- 
duce certain never-varying effects; whatever 
is undertaken in conformity with their decrees 
prospers, and penalty is always in proportion 
to their infringement. 

Must not natural laws also be divine? 

As they exist, they are evidently efTects of 
the will of the Creator, or God. 

Is there any cause to apprehend, from the doc- 
trine of the natural laws, the introduction of 



GENERALITIES. V 

such evils as attended on the systems of govern- 
ment called Theocracies? 

The self-elected. and presumed interpreters 
of a revelation have always had much better 
opportunities of acting arbitrarily, and of en- 
forcing belief, than can fall to the lot of the 
proposers of natural laws. The priesthood 
has generally taught dogmatically, and inter- 
dicted the use of reason. Natural law, on the 
contrary, is submitted to the free scrutiny of 
all, and is appreciated in great part by means 
of reason: every one, so inclining, may, under 
the guidance of observation, be convinced of 
the reality of its several propositions. There 
is nothing but good to be anticipated from the 
study of the natural law. 

Have not the made and artificial laws of 
men the distinguishing features of those which 
are natural? 

Enacted by beings who may err themselves, 
or who, from various motives, may wish to de- 
ceive and to lead others into error, they are 
often founded on caprice, and on partial con- 
siderations; they are frequently modified by 
local and individual circumstances; they vary 



10 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

in every nation, and have changed with the 
different epochs in the history of each. Such 
a law would not have been instituted, had not 
such a man lived or such an event happened. 
The act which the arbitrary law of one coun- 
try approves, is often condemned by the made 
code of another. It has even happened, that 
laws simultaneously imposed have been mutu- 
ally subversive. They are frequently repug- 
nant to good sense, and they have also been 
unjust; for they have conferred immunities and 
privileges on individuals, have attached re- 
wards and punishments by no means commen- 
surate to the extent of virtuous conduct, or 
the magnitude of criminal actions, and have 
ranked as virtues and as vices actions altogeth- 
er insignificant or purely indifferent. 

Can society neglect positive laws — that is to 
say, rules of conduct ivhich, clearly announced, 
are binding on all its members? 

No; there are few who may be left to them- 
selves, to their good pleasure, to their incli- 
nations and their judgments. The majority of 
mankind requires positive laws for its direction, 



GENERALITIES. 11 

and frequent admonition as to what is to be 
done and what left alone. 

Wherefore is this? 

Because of the generally deficient strength 
of the sentiments which dictate the Moral 
Law, and the true rule of conduct in the world. 

Admitting the necessity of a positive code 
then, is there any essential difference between 
natural and positive laws? 

There ought to be none. The natural laws 
should be promulgated as positive and obliga- 
tory on all. Unfortunately, this is not done. 
The positive laws of society are even too fre- 
quently the very opposite of those which the 
Creator dictates. 

How may the artificial laws be subdivided? 

Into arbitrary or absolute and into conven- 
tional. The former are the result of the good 
pleasure of the ruler, the others are fixed upon 
by the agreement of several legislators. 

What titles are given to the transgression of 
any law whatever ? 

As regards religion, Sin, and as concerns 
civil enactments, Crime. These are the 
most comprehensive terms in use. 



12 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Do transgressions of the law, or sins and 
crimes, admit of degrees of gravity? 

That they do is a point admitted by all le- 
gislators, civil as well as religious. 

What title is given to the consequence of the 
infringement of a laiv ? 

Evil. 

Are there many and various kinds of evil ? 

Evil is first physical, or it is moral; then it 
is individual, or general; lastly it is temporal, 
or eternal. 

Are not these different kinds* of evil linked to- 
gether and inseparable ? 

Physical and moral evil engender each other 
mutually. Individuals and society are con- 
nected and in relation; and, according to the 
christian religion, our fate through eternity de- 
pends on the present life. 

Does it ever happen that man suffers inno- 
cently; that is to say, for the transgression of a 
laiv in ignorance of its existence ? 

It occurs frequently, and in reference to 
the whole of the three kinds of natural laws. 
The punishments, too, are always as severe 
as if merited by wilful neglect. Belladonna 



GENERALITIES. 13 

kills him who knows not, as w r ell as him who 
knows, its poisonous quality, the man of gen- 
ius and the fool, the pious and the impious. 
All suffer alike who infringe, as all without ex- 
ception prosper who obey, the natural laws. 

Is the study of man a study of great impor- 
tance ? 

What of so much ? Man is at the head of 
the terrestrial creation. He alone examines 
the causes of natural phenomena and imitates 
many of them. He alone elevates his thoughts 
to the conception of a first cause and is sus- 
ceptible of moral and religious ideas. 

What is the great object of the philosophy of 
man ? 

To determine accurately the fundamental 
powers of the human mind and to ascertain the 
conditions under which these are exhibited; 
to indicate the causes of the functions vari- 
ously modified in individuals; and to show the 
necessity of man's as w r ell as of every other 
created being's submission to the laws which 
the Creator imposes to enjoy happiness and to 
secure success in his undertakings. 

Is the agency of the natural law suspended, 
because of man's living in society'? 



14 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

By no means. Man was destined to live in 
society, and obedience to one natural ordina- 
tion cannot render another ineffective. The 
Creator has laid down certain laws for man's 
social state, adherence to which is indispensa- 
ble to his happiness, under whatever circum- 
stances he may chance to be placed. 

Is mankind happy 9 

To whatever side we turn our eyes, the un- 
fortunate, and miserable, and discontented meet 
our view. There are very few indeed who 
are happy. 

Wherein consists the happiness of man? 

In the satisfaction of his faculties. 

Does the happiness of men differ; or, is that 
which gratifies one, calculated to be agreeable 
to aW 

Happiness differs universally according to in- 
dividual constitution. There are as many dis- 
tinct species of happiness and pleasure, as 
there are fundamental faculties; and men being 
unlike in mental endowment, the cause of hap- 
piness in one case is frequently a source of 
disgust in a second, and is unnoticed as either 
in a third. 



GENERALITIES. 15 

We cannot, therefore, find any measure of the 
happiness of others, in taking ourselves as 
standards? 

Certainly we cannot; because the faculties 
are not equally nor alike active in all men. 

In what does the misery of man consist? 

In the non-satisfaction of his faculties. 

Then the causes of the misery of man are 
different, are they not? 

They vary according to the faculty or fac- 
ulties which are active, and which are not sat- 
isfied. 

What is the principal cause of the unhappi- 
ness of man? 

Ignorance and transgression of the natural 
law. 

It appears, therefore, that to know and to 
practise the natural law is extremely important? 

As evil consists in its transgression, and good 
in its accomplishment, and as its infringement 
is the principal cause of man's unhappiness, 
the natural law ought to be made a principal 
study with every individual, it should be learn- 
ed by heart, and its precepts never lost sight 
of in the business of life. 



16 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

How may the natural laws of man be subdi- 
vided? 

Into three kinds, after the threefold na- 
ture of his functions, viz. Vegetative, Intellect- 
ual and Moral. 

Do these three kinds of laws exert a mutual 
influence? 

They do, and it is of much importance not 
to confound the fundamental faculties in which 
they inhere, with the products of the mutual 
influence of those faculties, nor the existence 
of three kinds of laws with their reciprocal re- 
lations. 



SECTION I. 

OF THE VEGETATIVE LAWS OF MAN* 

What natural laws of man are Vegetative? 

Those which concern the preservation of his 
body are so entitled. 

How may these laws be divided? 

Into two orders, having for their objects 
respectively, 

1st, The preservation of the individual, 

2nd, The preservation of the species. 

What are the most important of the natural 
laivs that relate to the preservation of individu- 
als ? 

1st, A good innate constitution, and 2nd, The 
laws of dietetics which include temperature, 
light, air, food, cleanliness, exercise and repose. 

Is not a perfect attention to the laws of diet- 
etics indispensable to health 9 

Yes; a certain quantity of caloric is neces- 
sary to life, but it injures the bodily health in 
too great abundance or too great scarcity. 
2* 



18 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Cold engenders many complaints, not only 
among the poor but also among the rich. 
The impossibility of guarding against sudden 
changes of temperature, and the imprudence 
with which all expose themselves to these, 
are causes of innumerable diseases. The 
quality of the air man breathes also influences 
his bodily state. Carbonic acid gas suppres- 
ses the vital functions, hydrogen retards, and 
oxigen accelerates them; marsh miasmata pro- 
duce diseases, &c. Air free from all putrid or 
other exhalations is necessary to enable man 
to exercise his various attributes with energy. 

How may the dietetic laws that relate to Ali- 
mentation be considered ? 

Either as the quantity or the quality of ali- 
mentary matter is concerned. 

Does the quality of man' s food deserve atten- 
tion ? 

It should be accommodated to age, tempera- 
ment, climate, and season, and should vary 
with the prevailing weather, and the state of 
health of the individual. Whatever is easily 
digested is wholesome, whatever is not is per- 
nicious. Many enactments of ancient legisla- 



VEGETATIVE LAWS. 19 

tors show their sense of the propriety of reg- 
ulating the quality of aliment. Religious law- 
givers seem also to have had the same end in 
view, when they pronounced certain kinds of 
food to be clean, and certain others to be un- 
clean. Pork in the warm countries of the 
East is unwholesome, and the Jews and Ma- 
hometans are forbidden by a religious com- 
mandment to eat of it. 

Does the general laio in regard to the salu- 
brity of aliments vary in different countries ? 

In every climate the general law is the same: 
such food is universally to be used as may be 
digested with ease. But aliment varies in kind 
in every different country; and as food, by an- 
other natural law, must always harmonize with 
the particular circumstances of existence, 
with age, temperament, climate, &c. such 
things cannot be proper, in lands where the 
excessive heat and light of the sun stimulate 
the vital functions greatly, as are wholesome 
and even necessary in regions where fogs and 
frost and darkness cramp the energies of man. 

There is nothing then clean or unclean in 
itself ? 



20 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Nothing. Every thing, however, may de- 
serve either title by its employment in general 
or in particular cases. 

■Are the dietetic rules of the Jews of Palestine, 
and of the Egyptians, adapted to the nations of 
the north 9 

By no means. To prescribe the same 
course of diet to the inhabitants of every coun- 
try of the globe, would not be less absurd than 
to command the same material, and the same 
form, for the garments of the Esquimaux, Eu- 
ropean, and native of Senegal. 

How is the natural law, having reference to 
quantity of food, entitled ? 

Sobriety or Temperance. 

Is this law of much importance 9 

It exerts a powerful influence upon the well- 
being of individuals. The sober man digests 
easily, his body is properly nourished, and he 
is ever in a condition to attend to his affairs. 

What crimes are committed against Sobrie- 

Gluttony and Drunkenness. 

What evils attend on the first of these ? 

A long train of ills wait upon gluttony. It 



VEGETATIVE LAWS. 21 

injures the health, and weakens the digestive 
powers; or it brings on obesity,unfits the body 
for its duties, obscures the powers of the 
mind, and occasions every species of incon- 
venience. 

What evils accompany the second crime 
against Sobriety? 

The consequences which attend drunken- 
ness are nearly similar, but greater in degree. 
Drunkenness undermines the health, enfeebles 
digestion, and reduces its unhappy votary to 
the level of the brutes; it deprives him of the 
distinctions of humanity, which his Creator had 
given for his guidance, rendering him equally 
unfit for business and unworthy of trust; and, 
making him quarrelsome and unreasonable, it 
fills his home with misery and disorder. 

What is the natural law which forbids the 
abuse of solid or liquid aliment? 

It is the law of Abstinence. 
Does this law absolutely forbid all food 
whatever for a season, or certain kinds of food, 
as xcine, entirely? 

It does no more than interdict those things 
that are noxious, and the abuse of those which 



22 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

are good and proper. But this simple and salu- 
tary interpretation has been abandoned; sound 
views and excellent laws have been misunder- 
stood, and changed into superstitious observ- 
ances — the original aim of their institution has 
indeed been very generally lost sight of alto- 
gether. To subdue their animal appetites, the 
inhabitants of Roman Catholic countries are 
commanded to eat no flesh on certain days of 
the week, but they may still drink wine, live 
upon fish, with rich and stimulating sauces, 
on eggs, lobsters, and various shell-fish. Now 
sensualism is in fact more excited by such al- 
iments than by the flesh of animals plainly 
dressed. The Mahometans are forbidden to 
drink wine, but they still may intoxicate them- 
selves by the unrestrained use of coffee, opium 
and tobacco; during the Rhammadan, they are 
commanded to touch neither solid nor liquid 
food from sunrise to sunset, by a restriction 
which, however, allows them to revel in de- 
bauchery from sunset to sunrise, &c. 

Are certain days indicated by the natural 
laiv as proper to be observed as fasts? 

Sobriety and the law of Abstinence, are never 



VEGETATIVE LAWS. 23 

to be interrupted in their agency , never to be de- 
parted from. No specific day, or number of 
days, are pointed out by the natural law as es- 
pecial Fasts. We must ever eat and drink 
that we may live, not live that we may eat and 
drink. The laws of hunger and thirst exist; 
and he who obeys not their calls in due season 
and at fitting time, is as much guilty of a breach 
of the divine will, as he who abuses them by 
brutal indulgence. 

Does it not follow from this, that the laws of 
sobriety, and abstinence or fasting, are to be 
enforced, not to please the Creator, but purely 
to advantage man 6 } 

The first interpretation is the effect of igno- 
rance, and is repugnant to good sense. These 
natural laws have no other end but the happi- 
ness of individuals, and of the kind at large, 
and as they exert a powerful influence over 
the health, the habitual dispositions, and the 
momentary affections of the mind, they ought 
to be taught and made universally known. 
Man, it is evident, feels his bodily as well as 
his mental state to vary during a fast, and after 
a hearty meal. A cup of strong coffee, or a 



24 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

glass of generous wine, gives more or less ac- 
tivity both to the body and to the mind. Al- 
iment is the principal cause of the organic con- 
stitution, on which depends the degree of en- 
ergy possessed by the fundamental faculties of 
the body and mind. Without a body and a 
brain, there is no exhibition of vegetative or 
mental phenomena in this world; without food 
there can be neither body nor brain. — Hence 
the importance of the natural laws of alimenta- 
tion. 

Was the importance of the law of Sobriety 
known to the ancients? 

The rules of dietetics among them constitu- 
ted a great part of moral science, and of the 
revealed commandments. This proves suffi- 
ciently the attention they bestowed on them, 
and the degree of importance they attached to 
their observance. 

Are not the laws of bodily exercise also to 
be carefully observed? 

Bodily exercise is useful at every period 
of life; it is, however, more especially so dur- 
ing youth, and the years of corporeal devel- 
opement. 



VEGETATIVE LAWS. 25 

Has attention to the law of cleanliness any 
influence on individuals') 

Cleanliness, as it tends to keep up free cuta- 
neous transpiration — a process absolutely ne- 
cessary to perfect health, demands sedulous 
cultivation. Those who are very cleanly in 
their persons and in their houses, are more 
healthy than those who are slovenly, and live 
amid filth. 

What bad consequences result from a neglect 
of the natural law of cleanliness 1 ? 

These are very numerous. Cutaneous dis- 
eases, malignant fevers, and contagious influ- 
ences generally, are engendered; and various 
insects — those disgusting appendages of filth 
and poverty — are encouraged to multiply. 

Did the ancients give any heed to the laics of 
cleanliness') 

By ranking attention to cleanliness among 
the religious virtues, and its neglect among the 
sins, and by instituting ablutions and purifica- 
tions ancient lawgivers had demonstrated 
their knowledge of the good and evil effects 
attendant on the observance or neglect of its 
law. 

3 



26 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

How are the laics that especially interest the 
preservation of the species named 9 

The laws of hereditary descent; for parents 
exercise a mighty influence over the physical 
condition of their offspring. General consti- 
tution, bodily qualities, individual peculiarities, 
diseases &c. are transmitted from sire's to sons. 

What are the conditions required to accom-* 
plish the laws of hereditary descent ? 

Every person ought to have attained com- 
plete growth, and mature solidity of fibre, and 
also to be in possession of confirmed good 
health, before putting himself into the way of 
having a family. Those who marry too young 
ruin their health, and procreate miserable, 
dwarfish, and weakly children, whose lives are 
useless to the commonwealth, and burthen- 
some to themselves. Those, again, who have 
passed the meridian of life, or have suffered 
from debilitating causes, before marriage, have 
also an infirm and degenerate family. 

What then should induce abnegation of mar- 
riage ? 

No one who has the seeds of hereditary dis- 
ease, such as scrofula, consumption, insanity, 



VEGETATIVE LAWS. 27 

gout, stone, &c. &c. lurking in his constitu- 
tion, ought to marry. 

Do not individuals, sprung from the same 
stock, commit a grave error when they inter- 
marry? 

Marriages between near relations are very 
frequently sterile, or the progeny is bastardiz- 
ed, unpromising, and oftentimes idiotic. For 
this reason it was that several ancient legisla- 
tors interdicted such unions. Like misfor- 
tunes, although in a less degree, afflict the fami- 
lies that intermarry for a long period of time. 
The offspring speedily feels a deteriorating in- 
fluence; its physical and moral powers are en- 
feebled by degrees, and the race is ultimately 
extinguished. 

What is the most important moment for the 
body of living beings ? 

It is the moment of receiving existence. 
The form, dimensions, and texture of the 
body and its parts, the energy of the vegetative 
functions, and the whole fate of the future be- 
ing, in regard to health, disease, &c. depend 
on this instant. 

Marriages ought therefore to be better assort- 



28 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

ed than they are at present , were it merely to 
benefit the physical part of man's nature ? 

Greater attention in this particular would 
spare much sorrow to families. A dwarfish 
and sickly offspring is in itself a dreadful mis- 
fortune, and veiy often poisons all the pleasures 
of existence to parents. 

Submission to the laws of hereditary descent 
appears to be of the first-rate importance — does 
it not ? 

General as well as individual happiness is 
implicated in their observance. Attention to 
their dictates will influence the improvement 
of the species far more than any measure be- 
sides that can be taken, and will consequently 
do more to advantage general happiness than 
any other exactment whatsoever. The laws 
of hereditary descent exist; those who submit 
will be happy and blessed in their offspring, 
those who neglect them, though they them- 
selves escape, will have prepared abundant 
cause of misery to their children and to pos- 
terity. 

How comes it that so little attention has hith- 
erto been paid to the laws of hereditary descent 
in contracting marriage ? 



VEGETATIVE LAWS. 29 

Ignorance may in part be blamed, and the 
dominion of inferior inclinations particularly 
of acquisitiveness, love of approbation and 
self esteem may very fairly be charged with 
the rest of the transgressions committed against 
them. 

Ought not the laics of hereditary descent to 
be taught, then } 

They ought, as soon as young people can 
understand how they themselves came into the 
world. Knowledge of these laws could not fail 
to produce the most beneficial effects ; for even 
personal views would unite with nobler and 
higher considerations, to make the youth avoid 
acts and connections that might bring misery 
to dwell with them for the remainder of their 
lives. But even admitting the impossibility of 
finding means that would succeed completely 
in opening men's eyes — acknowledging the 
probable continuance of the reign of disorder, 
we are nevertheless to use every effort in pro- 
mulgating knowledge, which, acted upon, would 
render mankind better and more happy. The 
laws of hereditary descent occupy a place in 
the foremost rank of importance, and ought 
3* 



30 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

never to be lost sight of by the well wishers of 
humanity. 

What points does the law, in its most com- 
prehensive signification , that governs the phy- 
sical part of man's nature, comprised 

The doing whatever may contribute to the 
development and preservation of the body, the 
avoiding all that may militate against this, the 
putting the corporeal state into harmony with 
the exhibition of the intellectual and moral 
laws, or, in the religious language of the an- 
cients, in making the body a temple and an 
instrument of Intellect and Morality. 

Is practice of the vegetative laws necessary*) 

The existence of these laws and the neces- 
sity of submitting to them are synonymous. 
Without this, man can never prosper or be 
happy; without this, the accomplishment of 
the moral and intellectual laws is impossible. 
The importance, nay the necessity, of con- 
forming strictly to all they ordain, follows ir- 
resistibly as a corollary. 



SECTION II. 

OF THE INTELLECTUAL LAWS OF MAN. 

What is the essence of Intelligence, or Un- 
derstanding? 

It is, to know. The Intellect alone ac- 
quires knowledge, of whatever kind it be. 

In what does Intelligence consist — or, what is 
Intelligence? 

Intelligence is a word which, at one time, 
designates a personified principle which knows; 
at another, no more than an attribute of a prin- 
ciple — the faculty of knowing; sometimes also 
the name is used to signify the functions col- 
lectively which have place with consciousness. 

In what are philosophers agreed, in their 
discussions upon intelligence, and in what do 
they differ? 

All agree as to the effects of Intellect; for all 
assign to it every species of knowledge,— to know 
is its nature: but differences occur as to what it 
is that knows, as to the objects known,the con- 



32 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

ditions necessary to knowledge, and the vari- 
ous degrees of certainty of our knowledge. 

What opinion is the most generally enter- 
tained as to that which knows 6 ! 

The greatest number of philosophers speak 
of, and admit, an incorporeal something, inhab- 
iting man's body, which knows. Others, how- 
ever, consider knowledge as a function or pro- 
duct of certain organic structures. 

How are these two classes of philosophers en- 
titled? 

The partisans of the first opinion are called 
Spiritualists, those of the second, Materialists. 

What was the literal meaning of the word 
among the Greeks and Romans^ which corves* 
ponds to Spirit or Soul among the moderns? 

Air, or breath. 

And by ivhatnameis the doctrine of the incor- 
poreal something of man's constitution desig- 
nated 6 ! 

It is termed Psychology, from the Greek 
f v X n soul, and a ^ 0? .discourse or doctrine. 

What are the ideas most generally entertain- 
ed concerning this incorporeal part of man? 

That it inhabits our mortal body, by the me- 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 33 

dium or assistance of which its operations are 
variously manifested, and from which it is sep- 
arated at death, to change its habitation. 

By ivhat name have some modem French 
philosophers entitled the vis, or power which 
knoivs and the result of its activity or know* 
ledge? 

They have called the power which knows, 
Sensibility, without paying further attention to 
its nature, its actual state, or its destiny; and to 
the product of sensibility, that is, knowledge, 
they have given the general title, Sensation. 

Can we, by reasoning, arrive at conclusions 
on the nature of that which knows, on its man- 
ner of acting, or on its final destination? 

These are purely subjects of religious be- 
lief, and history shows that opinions, the most 
contradictory and unlikely, have been promul- 
gated and received in regard to them. 

What conclusion is to be drawn from this 
fact? 

That every individual is to have full permis- 
sion to believe that which to him seems good 
and proper, provided neither individual nor 
general happiness be compromised. 



34 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Announcing the fact — Man Knows, — what 
points are especially to be attended to in exam- 
ining his knowledge } 

It is necessary above all things to determine 
accurately that which he can, and that which 
he cannot know; to specify the various sorts 
of knowledge, and indicate the conditions un- 
der which each may be acquired; to establish 
the natural laws, or the regularity with which 
every thing happens; and thus to found on a 
sure basis the happiness of individuals and of 
the human kind. 

What can man know? 

Strict reason demonstrates that he only 
knows his individual identity, and the modified 
conditions of his self. Plain sense says that 
man knows, first, his existence, many parts 
which constitute his frame, many internal 
functions, called feelings and intellect, or 
affective and intellectual faculties ; — Moreover, 
that he knows a great number of external ob- 
jects, as existences; that he further knows their 
physical qualities, their mutual relations, and 
their relations with himself and with others; 
lastly, that he knows regularity, or the laws of 
all the knowledge he possesses. 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 35 

How may the external objects of human 
knowledge be divided? 

Into Matters, and Spirits or Souls. 

What, according to the ancients, are the 
characteristics of matter, and of spirit or soul') 

Matter was characterized by its inertia, and 
certain qualities styled physical, such as form, 
size, weight, and impenetrability. Spirit, on 
the other hand, was distinguished by its form- 
lessness, and its power of conferring activity on 
matter. 

Have opinions on these points been constant? 

No. Mankind have not at all times recog- 
nized the same number either of elementary 
matters or spirits. Simple 1 substances were 
long confined to four, but modern chemistry 
in its progress has augmented the quantity 
prodigiously. 

Under what forms does matter occur in the 
world? 

It exists in the solid, liquid, aeriform or im- 
ponderable state. 

Are not researches upon matter in some of 
these conditions more especially difficult? 

Researches upon imponderable bodies are 



36 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

particularly so; for matter in this state is in- 
timately connected with the personified princi- 
ples which act in the human body; and here, 
observation and induction, the sole guides to 
certainty, abandon the investigator. 

What difference is there between matter gener- 
ally and an organized body? 

Matter may, 1st, be simple; an organized 
body is always compounded: 

2nd, Matter has not been engendered, and 
has no generative power; organized bodies are 
products of previously existing individuals, 
their like : 

3rd, matter of different kinds, however min- 
gled, chemically or mechanically, can never 
exhibit vital functions after the manner of an 
organized body. 

What are the points of resemblance between 
matter generally and organized bodies; accord- 
ing to ancients? 

1st, Inertia, and 
2nd, Each being actuated by immaterial caus- 
es or spirits. 

To what has the organizing power of the 
body been ascribed by the old philosophers, 
and tcith what degree of accuracy? 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS; 37 

To the soul or spirit. But this conclusion 
is not probably correct. A beautiful body fol- 
lows not necessarily as a consequence of a 
superior soul, and many very plain persons at- 
tach our good opinion and gain our confidence 
by their amiable tempers and general good 
qualities. 

What is it impossible for man to know? 

It is certain that he can know nothing in it- 
self, neither the essence of his own nature nor 
that of external objects. The self of the con- 
scious man is nothing more to him than an ob- 
ject of observation. Farther man cannot know 
either the beginning or the end or final desti- 
nation of aught that is; he can only observe 
what is, the conditions under which it is, and 
the regularity with which the phenomena hap- 
pen. His knowledge is merely phenomenal. 

In what way can man know, or acquire know- 
ledge? 

Only by observing and inducing; for reflec- 
tion will no more reveal to man his own na- 
ture, than it will give him information of exter- 
nal objects, with their physical qualities and 
their relations. The study of man by the 
4 



38 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN 

a priori method, or reflection, has retarded the 
knowledge of his nature extremely. Every 
one who entered on the subject assuming him- 
self as the type of the whole species, confound- 
ed his own peculiarities wdth the essential or gen- 
eral constitution of humanity; as if one blind 
from birth should do well in imagining all man- 
kind similarly circumstanced. Hence arose 
as many systems of mental philosophy as 
there were thinkers. 

What can man know of his own nature'? 

First, his body, its constituent parts, its 
functions, the laws of its preservation, and the 
law T s of propagation; further, his own affective 
and intellectual operations, and those of his 
fellow men; lastly, the conditions necessary 
to the manifestation of these, and the regulari- 
ty or laws according to which they appear or 
are produced. 

Man then, it appears, is destined to knoic? 

The law of nature proclaims that he is. 
Intelligence is as essential a part of man as 
his body. Without it, neither individuals nor 
the species could be preserved or continued. 

Intelligence being an inherent part of human 
pature> why do some oppose its cultivation? 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS 39 

All who do so are to be regarded with a 
very suspicious eye. They are such as w r ould 
lead mankind blindfolded, and obedient to their 
arbitrary will and pleasure, for selfish and sin- 
ister ends. It is unquestionably much easier 
to render the ignorant and uncultivated subser- 
vient to unworthy purposes, than the instruct- 
ed and reasoning man. Knowledge, too, and 
the habit of reflection, detect errors which 
pride and selfishness would willingly keep con- 
cealed. The abuses or misapplication of in- 
tellect have also been confounded with intel- 
lect itself. Now, intellect only supplies the 
means of executing, it gives not the motive 
or aim of the action. — As religion is not the 
less respectable because of the crimes com- ' 
mitted in its name, neither is intellect because 
of its abuses. 

Is it not reasonable then to cultivate the un- 
derstanding*! 

The cultivation of the Intellect, provided 
justice and truth be made the objects of re- 
search, is not only reasonable, but is a prime 
duty. 
What is the second natural law of Intelligence? 



40 NATURAL tAWS OP MAK. 

It is this: The different manifestations of 
man are inexplicable, on the supposition of one 
simple cause; in other words: Man in his na- 
ture possesses determinate, specific, and dis- 
tinct causes of his different modes of feeling 
and thinking. 

How do they, who admit the entity self, ex- 
plain man's different kinds of knoivledge? 

By supposing this agent, self, endowed with 
a number of primary faculties; they also rec- 
ognize various conditions, as necessary to the 
exhibition of mental phenomena. 

What is the usual division of the primary 
faculties of the agent, self? 

It is into Understanding and Will; a di- 
vision which has been recognized from remote 
antiquity, and differently entitled — Head and 
Heart, Spirit and Flesh, Intellect and Moral 
Faculties, Modes of thinking and Modes of 
Feeling, 

What is the meaning of the word, Will? 

To Will various meanings are attached. 
Philosophers commonly understand by it, all 
desires collectively, and all degrees in any 
particular desire, from simple inclination up to 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 41 

passion. Hence they speak of weak and of 
strong wills; and farther, of good and of bad 
wills also. 

Will, again, sometimes denotes the desire 
which predominates. Feeling one inclination, 
if another arise and overcome the former, the 
second is called Will. 

There is still another kind of Will, which 
may be called enlightened, because it implies 
a desire approved of by intelligence. 

Is will) as designating desires, not confined to 
the faculties ichich experience Sentiments? 

No; for, that every faculty, being active, 
desires, is a perfectly general proposition, and 
therefore includes such faculties as procure 
knowledge also. 

Seeing that the philosophical nomenclature 
is so faulty, and that those faculties that know, 
desire or manifest Will, would it not be well to 
give a distinguishing title to all the powers 
that merely excite feelings without acquiring 
any knowledge? 

• Certainly it would. And as the faculties 
which do not know, produce especially what 

are called affections, affective faculties will ac- 

4* 



42 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

curately express their distinguishing nature. 

What knows, or takes cognizance of, the af- 
fective powers*} 

The Intellect. To know, is the peculiar 
and proper character of the facilities which en- 
ter into its constitution. 

How is the Intellect or the Understanding 
divided? 

It is commonly supposed to be possessed of 
certain attributes entitled faculties, such as 
Attention, Perception, Memory, Imagination, 
and Judgment. Occasionally the Understand- 
ing has been said to know, according to certain 
forms or categories. Kant, for instance, ob- 
serves that the Spirit or Intellect must repre- 
sent all it knows in space and time. 

How is Attention defined? 

Philosophers have considered Attention to 
be the primary faculty which acts in the acqui- 
sition of every sort of knowledge. 

Can Attention be truly esteeyned a primary 
faculty of the mind? 

If it be, it behoves philosophers to show the 
causes of its various decrees and different kinds 



°5- 



of activity. For one may manifest a peculiar 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 43 

sort of Attention strongly, another weakly, and 
be altogether incapable of exhibiting a third. 
Now all these facts are incompatible with the 
philosophic idea of Attention being a primary 
faculty. 

What is Attention then } 

Attention is the effect of the entity self arous- 
ed by the active state of the affective and in- 
tellectual faculties. Its strength is proportion- 
ed to the degree of energy of the acting pow- 
ers, that is, of the powers which attend. 

Can we, on this showings explain, why, 
without Attention, no one can succeed in any 
art or science? 

Readily. Attention is synonymous with 
activity, and certainly success is impossible 
without activity of the respective faculties. 

How is Perception defined? 

Perception, or Consciousness, according to 
philosophers, is that faculty which takes cog- 
nizance of impressions, whether external or 
internal. Each of these two orders of impress- 
sions includes many species, which may be 
perceived separately. We may hear and not 
see, see and not hear; we may perceive, or be 



44 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

conscious of, the forms of objects, and not of 
their dimensions and colors; perceive the har- 
mony of colors, and not of tones; be conscious 
of attachment and not of fear, of pride and not 
of benevolence; and so on. Knowledge of any 
impression whatever, is Perception; there are 
consequently as many kinds of perception as 
of faculties which furnish impressions. 

What general title may be given to the or- 
ganic conditions which procure impressions'? 

The general term, Sense. Internal as well 
as external senses might then be spoken of 
with propriety; and perception — a common 
quality, would appear stripped of all pretensions 
to rank as a primary faculty of mind. 

What is Memory') 

Memory is, by many philosophers, regarded 
as a fundamental power, but it is in truth noth- 
ing more than the repetition by intellectual 
faculties of previously received impressions. 
The species of memory therefore are as nu- 
merous as the faculties which know. The 
different kinds of memory, and the various de- 
grees of activity exhibited by each, are inex- 
plicable by the hypothesis of a simple cause; 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 45 

as inexplicable indeed as are the different spe- 
cies of knowledge on such a supposition. 

How comes it that attention strengthens 
Memory? 

Attention and Memory are alike effects of 
an active state of the faculties which know. 
Energetic actions of these, accompanied by 
clear perceptions, leave strong impressions, 
which are afterwards reproduced with more 
ease than such as have been so weak and tran- 
sient as to be but little noted. Moreover, the 
faculty which takes cognizance of the phenom- 
enal world, exercises an influence over the 
powers which know, and by exciting, better 
enables them to repeat their functions, and 
thus strengthens memory. 

What is the mental phenomenon, entitled 
Reminiscence } 

It is the consciousness of the repetition of 
any sensation or previously acquired know- 
ledge. 

Is Reminiscence a primary faculty? 

No, it is but an effect of a repetition of its 
function by that faculty which takes cognizance 
of the phenomenal world — Eventuality.. 



48 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

What is understood by Imagination? 

Imagination is a word which is variously in- 
terpreted. Sometimes it is used to designate 
a faculty that makes man act spontaneously, 
and causes him to invent in any way. A me- 
chanician invents ingenious machines, a musi- 
cian composes musical pieces, a mathematician 
discovers new problems, — all is done by Im- 
agination. Sometimes the word denotes an 
exalted and peculiar manner of feeling, and in 
this sense, Imagination is a sentiment or dis- 
tinct affective faculty, capable of being com- 
bined with all the other faculties. 

Is there any primary faculty of Imagination 
taken as synonymous iviththe capacity of Inven- 
tion? 

None. It is only a consequence of the in- 
tellectual combined with the affective faculties, 
each in a high state of activity. 

Is there any primary faculty of Association? 

Many philosophers speak of such a funda- 
mental power, but it is a mere effect of sever- 
al distinct and varied causes ; in other words, 
the actions of the primary faculties are associ- 
ated. Each being active, excites and acts 
along with one or two, or more, of the others. 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 47 

How is association among the intellectual 
faculties styled*? 

Association of Ideas. 

The mode of action, called, Association, how- 
ever, is not confined to the intellectual faculties? 

It may be observed among the affective also, 
and between the affective and intellectual pow- 
ers reciprocally. The mutual influence of the 
faculties is quite general. Any one whatso- 
ever in a state of activity may excite any one 
or any number of others. 

How is Judgment defined by philosophers? 

It is considered as a primitive faculty, which 
compares perceived impressions, finds them 
harmonious or discordant, and approves or 
disapproves of them. But Judgment is in fact 
a qualitive mode of action of the intellectual 
faculties. Species of knowledge act on the 
sentient being in conformity with certain laws, 
which however admit of modifications to a cer- 
tain extent. Now the faculties that know their 
appropriate impressions respectively, are affec- 
ted in a manner which they approve or disap- 
prove, and in this way may be said to judge. 
Judgment, consequently, is only the announce- 



48 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

ment of the mode of being affected by im- 
pressions received and known. There are 
consequently as many kinds of Judgment as 
species of knowlege or faculties which know; 
there is a Judgment in forms, another in col- 
ors, a third in tones, and so on; and Judgment 
individually depends on the special powers 
which appreciate forms, colors, tones, &c. 

Can Judgment be correctly spoken of as 
good or bad? 

The faculties are subject to certain laws, and 
their actions are either perfect or imperfect. 
Good Judgment is the attendant of the first, 
bad Judgment of the second, state. He who 
listens to music, perceives the harmony of the 
tones, or he does not; and is thus possessed 
or is not possessed of a musical judgment. 
He who has the faculties which are necessary 
to appreciate tones in their greatest state of 
perfection, has the best Judgment in music, 
and he who has them the least complete, has 
the worst Judgment in this particular. It is 
the same in regard to every other kind of know- 
ledge. 

Are the laws, according to which different 
species of knowledge have place, arbitrary? 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 49 

By no means; they present all the charac- 
ters of natural laws. They inhere in human 
nature, are essentially the same in all places 
and at all times, and harmonize with the whole 
of the vegetative and moral laws of man. Be 
it observed, however, that it is the essence 
done of the faculties which is pervaded by this 
universal regularity. Modifications of the pow- 
ers occur constantly and in great variety. 
Some actions, results of their activity, may 
be considered as good and excellent at one 
time, and bad and reprehensible at another. 
Certain kinds of knowledge, certain ideas, 
may prevail at particular periods, even errors 
may gain accredence and be in vogue, but 
truth and essential excellence will not therefore 
be annihilated; sooner or later, by one or an- 
other, they will be felt, and be made supreme. 

Are there not certain Judgments which are 
universally accounted good or bad? 

Yes. All civilized men would say of him 7 
who should feed on loathsome articles which 
could not nourish his body, that he had a bad 
taste. In the same way, he who admits ideas 
which are mutually contradictory, will be by 
5 



50 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

all accounted to have a bad Judgment. On 
the other hand, the effects of certain intellect- 
ual operations will always meet approval. 
The music of Handel and of Mozart, the color- 
ing of Titian, the sculpture of the old Greeks, 
and the Christian system of morals, will secure 
approbation, so long as the feeling for the 
melody and harmony of sounds, capacity to 
perceive color, power to appreciate fine forms, 
and admiration of virtue, belong to, and form 
constituents in, the nature of man. 

Is reason a fundamental power of the mind? 

No, this term indicates the functions of 
Comparison and Causality severally or in com- 
bination. 

What is the aim of reason? 

Reason is given to direct the functions of 
all the other special powers of the mind, and to 
bring them into harmony; without being guided 
by reason every faculty is liable to errors. 

Since reason is essential in preventing the er- 
rors of the other faculties is it free from erring? 
Reason acts according to determinate princi- 
ples, but it does not furnish the objects on whiclj 
it operates, hence it will err each time when 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 51 

the premises or objects of its activity are not 
truly furnished. 

Since many mistakes have thus been made in 
regard to the powers of the mind, hmc can we, 
by reasoning, arrive at a knowledge of its spe- 
cial faculties? 

A faculty will, by reason, be recognized as 
special, 1st, when it exists in one species of 
animal and not in another. 

2d, When its manifestations are not in 
proportion to those of the other faculties, nei- 
ther in the different sexes nor in the same in- 
dividual. 

3d, When its manifestations may be singly 
healthy or singly diseased. 

4th, When its manifestations do not appear 
nor disappear simultaneously with those of the 
other powers. 

5th, When it can alone, or singly repose. 

6th, When it is transmitted in a distinct 
manner from parents to children. 

The same mode of proof applies to the spe- 
cial affective, as well as the special intellectu- 
al, faculties. Observation and induction must 
lead to the knowledge of both. 



52 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

How is the existence of any special faculty 
whatever to be proved by observation? 

By the recognition of a relation between 
special manifestation and particular organic ap- 
paratus. 

What are the affective faculties of man? 

f Desire of life. 

* Desire of Meat and Drink. 

1. Sense of Destroying. 

2. Sense of Amativeness. 

3. Sense of Parental love, or Love of Off- 
spring. 

4. Sense of Attachment. 

5. Sense of Habitation. 

6. Sense of Courage. 

7. Sense of Secresy. 

8. Sense of Acquiring or Collecting. 

9. Sense of Constructing. 

10. Sense of Cautiousness. 

11. Sense of Approbation and Notoriety* 

12. Sense of Self-esteem. 

13. Sense of Benevolence. 

14. Sense of Reverence. 

15. Sense of Firmness and Perseverance. 

16. Sense of Conscientiousness. 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 53 

17. Sense of Hope. 

18. Sense of Marvellousness. 

19. Sense of the Ideal and Perfect. 

20. Sense of Mirth and Humor. 

21 . Sense of Imitation. 

What are the Intellectual faculties of maul 

1. Five External Senses which convey to 
him peculiar impressions of the external world. 

2. A faculty which personifies these impres- 
sions, and presents them as separate from the 
organs of external sense. This faculty seems 
to procure him notions of individual existence. 

3. Particular faculties which know the Phy- 
sical Qualities of objects, as Configuration, 
Size, Weight, and Color. 

4. A particular faculty which knows what 
passes in objects and their qualities, that is, 
which cognizes the phenomenal world. The 
same faculty seems also to turn into knowledge 
all sensations felt in the body; as pain, fatigue, 
the necessity of different evacuations, cold, 
heat, and, lastly, the activity of all the affec- 
tive pow r ers. 

5. Particular faculties which conceive no- 
tions of the Localities of objects, of Time or 

5* 



54 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

duration, whether of objects, or of phenomena 
and their succession; of Melody; of Number, 
whether of objects, qualities, phenomena, or 
tones; of Order, whether in objects, in phys- 
ical qualities, in phenomena, in localities, in 
succession, or in number. 

6. A particular faculty which cognizes An- 
alogy or Difference, Similitude or Dissimili- 
tude, and Identity, and establishes harmony; 
and another which appreciates the Causes of 
objects and of phenomena. 

7. A particular faculty which knows and 
presides over the signs of artificial language. 

What is understood by the Passions, and 
by the Affections. 

These words denote modes of action of the 
primary faculties. Passion expresses the high- 
est degree of their activity. Affection the 
mere general mode of their being affected. 

Then neither the Affections nor the Passions 
are primary powers of the mind? 

The preceding reply authorizes a negative. 

How may the Affections be subdivided? 

1st, Into modes of quality and modes of 
quantity; in other words, the primary faculties 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 55 

may procure modified sensations, and they 
may be more or less active. 

2d, Affections are general, common, or 
special; that is, certain modes of being affect- 
ed belong to the whole of the primary powers, 
to several, to one only, and to each individu- 
ally. Thus, Pleasure and Pain are general 
affections. Memory belongs to the intellect- 
ual faculties in common, and Compassion is a 
special affection of the faculty of Benevo- 
lence. 

3d, Affections are simple or compound; 
that is to say, they result from the individual 
activity of one faculty, or from the simultane- 
ous activity of several. For instance, Fear 
is a simple affection of the faculty of Circum- 
spection; Shame, a compound affection, of 
the faculties of Justice and Love of Approba- 
tion. 

4th, Affections are agreeable or disagreea- 
ble. 

5th, Affections are common to animals and 
man, or they are proper and peculiar to man, 
as well as the faculties themselves which are 
their causes. 



56 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

When the Passions are spoken of, why do 
mankind generally think of sensual pleasures 
and inferior sentiments, as love of notoriety, 
pride, and self-interestedness? 

Because the affective powers in general, 
and those in particular, in which these inclina- 
tions inhere, are commonly very energetic 
among men, and because their activity is ex- 
tremely dangerous to the peace and well-be- 
ing of society. 

Concluding from what has gone before, hoiv 
are the functions, designated as primary facul- 
ties in the schools of philosophy, to be regard- 
ed? 

Only as effects, or as modes of action in re- 
gard to quantity and quality of the mind's fun- 
damental powers. 

And what is to be thought of the philosophic 
nomenclature? 

That it is extremely defective. Every ex- 
pression has several significations, and none 
designates a cause or primary faculty, but 
merely an effect or action. 

What conclusion is to be drawn from this 
position? 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 57 

That the ideas of the schools are inexact. 
Ideas and the signs that express them are in- 
timately related. Ideas precede, and as they 
are precise, signs follow correspondingly nu- 
merous and exact. 

The philosophical nomenclature requires a 
reform, then } 

It stands in great need of it, as well as phi- 
losophical principles themselves. 

In remodelling and determining the nomen- 
clature of the philosophy of man, ichat course 
would be proper to pursue*) 

It would be necessary to assume signs to 
express, 

1st, Primary faculties, 

2d, Qualitive modes of action of the fac- 
ulties. 

3d, Degrees of activity or quantitive modes 
of the faculties. 

4th, Modes of several faculties simultaneous- 
ly active. 

5th, Different actions resulting whether 
from primary faculties simply active, from 
their modes, of their mutual influence. 

To illustrate this procedure take Benevo- 



58 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

lence. — This sign denotes a primary faculty of 
the mind; Compassion designates a qualitive 
mode of the power; Great, Much, Little, 
Weak, quantitive modes of the same; Equity 
its simultaneous activity with justice, the infe- 
rior sentiments being subordinate; Christian 
Charity, its union with the whole of the pri- 
mary powers besides, in a perfect state of har- 
mony. 

What generic name may be aptly used to 
express every function of the affective and in- 
tellectual faculties') 

Sensation will designate any degree of ac- 
tivity or other mode of every faculty. Every 
perceived impression is a species of Sensa- 
tion. 

How do Sensations become Conceptions or 
Ideas? 

This happens by Intellect representing to it- 
self Sensation. One may perceive the sen- 
sation of hunger internally and without saving, 
'I am hungry; 5 knowledge of the existence of 
sensations constitutes Conceptions or Ideas. 

What signification is attached to the icord 
Idea? * 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 59 

This term has been the subject of much 
discussion. Etymologically considered, it 
signifies, image or figure; but in this accepta- 
tion there are not many Ideas; odors, tastes, 
colors, are all excluded. Besides, by the do- 
minant philosophy of the present day, and in 
opposition to Aristotle, impressions, and not 
images, are maintained to be perceived by the 
Soul. Several philosophers have also extend- 
ed the meaning of the word Idea, and made it 
to signify Knowledge of all external impres- 
sions. But when the etymological significa- 
tion is once abandoned, there can be no reason 
for not calling knowledge, both of external 
and internal impressions, Idea. One might 
then have an Idea of hunger, of fear, and of 
anger, as well as of color, sound, figure, or 
dimension. 

What is the third natural law of Intelligence 5 } 

It is as follows: the knowledge of man's 
mental nature may become as exact and posi- 
tive as that of his physical constitution. 

What are the principal points to be noted , 
touching man's mental nature*! 

They are, 1st, The primary faculties that 
enter into its position. 



60 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

2d, The origin of these. 

3d, The fixed laws of their functions. 

4th, The causes of modifications of their 
functions. 

5th, The moral and religious laws. 

What is the true method of proving the exis- 
tence of the primary faculties which constitute 
man's mental part 6 } 

It is still observation and induction. Phi- 
losphers have long disputed upon the special 
faculties of the human mind. From time to 
time, a greater or smaller number has been ad- 
mitted, but all that has yet been written or 
said has not been applicable beyond the limited 
sphere of individual conviction. When by 
observation the relations which subsist between 
the cerebral apparatus and the special powers 
of the mind shall have been demonstrated, the 
philosophy of man will become a positive and 
an invariable science. 

Physiology is therefore useful and aidant in 
the philosophy of man? 

Physiology and the Philosophy of mind are 
two sciences inseparable. They are mutually 
accompletive. 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 61 

What are the characteristics of exact knowledge? 
Exact knowledge is characterized in the 
same way as the natural laws. That which 
is, is, has been, and will be, demonstrable for 
ever. It is of the highest importance to be 
convinced that truth and exact knowledge of 
every kind are, and must be in harmony. 

What is the origin of the primary faculties 
of man? 

They are innate in his constitution. 
Has this truth been long known? 
From the remotest antiquity. The ancients 
even w r ent so far as to maintain that Ideas were 
innate. 

What then is actually innate in man? 
The essence of the primary powers, various 
capacities of activity, and peculiar modifications 
of function, according to sex or individuals. 

Have the faculties been, by all the schools y 
considered as innate } 

No; many philosophers have maintained, 
that man comes into the world a tabula rasa^ a 
smooth and fair surface, and that all his capaci- 
ties and actions are effects of external circum- 
stances. 

What ar& the chief extraneous circumstances 
6 



62 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

ivhich have been believed to be the causes of 
man's actions? 

Want, Society, Opportunity, Climate, 
Food, and, above all, Education. 

What is the extent of the influence of extra- 
neous circumstances? 

They are often necessary to permit the ex- 
hibition of natural dispositions, but they can 
by no possibility produce any faculty; some- 
times too they develope innate capacity, and 
exercise the faculties. Further, Education 
may give a determinate bent to the innate 
powers; and make them elicit specific actions. 
— A Mussulman and a Christian are both de- 
vout from the same innate feeling, but the for- 
mer may think it his duty to make at least 
once in his life a prilgrimage to Mecca, and 
the latter to sing hymns in praise of God. 

How has the innateness of their simple disposi- 
tions , or of their effects—actions ,been explained? 
Their cause has been sought, sometimes in 
the presence of immaterial agents, named Spir- 
its or Souls, sometimes in organization; either 
generally, or in that of the abdominal and thora- 
cic viscera, of the external senses, and of the 
brain especially. 



INTELLECTUAL LAWS. 63 

Hoio does determinate knowledge originate? 

From the innate primary capacities which 
know, and the impressions which are known. 

Do all possess the innate primary faculties in 
equal degrees of activity? 

No; experience proves that their energy va- 
ries extremely in different individuals. 

What is the cause of this diversity of endow- 
ment? 

It inheres partly in man, and partly belongs 
to extraneous circumstances. 

What is meant by an universal genius? 

He who could appreciate and acquire tho- 
roughly every species and variety of know- 
ledge, would be an universal genius. Genius 
does not signify a special power of mind, but 
the highest degree of activity of any intellec- 
tual faculty. Now although we may conceive 
a being possessed of all the powers in their best 
and most energetic state, it is not probable that 
any such has ever visited, oris ever likely to 
visit, the world. 

Is it possible or probable , that mankind may, 
in some future age, agree in their manners of 
feeling and thinking? 



64 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

As men are constituted at the present time, 
it must be admitted that they cannot agree, 
even upon the essentials of their mental func- 
tions, or of the judgments they pronounce. 
Harmony and unanimity, however, as essen- 
tials are concerned, will be possible, nay will 
prevail whenever the natural laws are recog- 
nized as the rules of conduct, and their com- 
mands are enforced and obeyed. But man- 
kind can never accord on the modifications of 
their affective and intellectual faculties. 

When we perceive that the corporeal and in- 
tellectual parts of man are governed by invari" 
able laics , can we suppose that his moral part, the 
most noble of all, is abandoned to chance — 
abstracted from the influence of all natural law? 
To think so is a grievous error, — an error 
that has been the source of many of the evils 
that afflict humanity. Man's moral nature is 
regulated by determinate laws. So vast is 
the importance and so great and salutary the 
influence, of this proposition, that it should be- 
come an article of universal belief among man- 
kind. 



SECTION III. 

OF THE MORAL LAWS. 

Is man naturally a moral being? — that iSj 
a being who, by his own nature, views his ac- 
tions in relation to duty and justice? 

Yes : there is in his constitution an inherent 
sentiment, entitled Moral Conscience, which 
produces such an effect. 

Are the moral precepts of all men alike? 

No; for the act which is considered just in 
one country, is often looked on as unjust in 
another. 

What is the cause of this diversity of deci- 
sion? 

The sentiment of conscientiousness does not 
determine that which is just or unjust, it only 
feels the necessity of being just. The major- 
ity of mankind take for granted whatever they 
are told is right, and assume as just, the pre- 
cepts to which they have been accustomed 
6* 



€6 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

from infancy. Among the few who think, In- 
tellect determines Justice; but the conclusions 
are still influenced by the general mental frame. 

How may conscience be divided 6 } 

Into Absolute and Individual. The first is 
Conscience as it ought to be for all men; the 
second, as its name implies, is the Conscience 
of individuals. 

In what does the Absolute Conscience of 
man consist? 

In the sentiment of conscientiousness com- 
bined with the whole of the faculties peculiar 
to man, those common to the human kind and 
animals being held in subjection. 

In what does Individual Conscience consist? 

It results from the sentiment of conscien- 
tiousness combined with the other faculties of 
individuals. He, therefore, who possesses 
the superior sentiments in great activity, will 
esteem those notions and actions as unjust, 
which another, whose inferior feelings are 
strong, and superior weak, would look upon as 
just. Intellect, it thus appears, is corrupted 
or swayed by the affective powers, and ad- 
mits as just whatever these recognize as agree- 
able. 



MORAL LAWS. 67 

Can we trust to the Individual Conscien- 
ces of mankind. 

No; it is impossible. Many feel very 
slightly the desire and necessity of being just, 
and seldom or never think of examining their 
actions with relation to moral rectitude. Be- 
sides, people are frequently misled in their 
moral judgments by the influence of other feel- 
ings; and many things which the standard of 
Absolute Conscience pronounces unjust, pass 
for just when estimated by individual manners 
of judging. 

Ought not the moral laws therefore to be 
studied, determined, and proposed as obliga- 
tory^ 

Certainly; Conscience should be Positive. 

Is there any difference between Positive and 
Absolute Conscience'? 

There ought to be none. In the world, 
however, Positive Conscience, or the Law, 
has most commonly been a product of the 
Individual Consciences of legislators. 

Has the Natural Moral Law, or Absolute 
Conscience, any distinguishing characters? 

It has all those of the natural laws generally,* 
* See page 4. 



68 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Have men any right to make moral laws? 

They have none, any more than to fabricate 
laws to regulate their vegetative and intellectu- 
al functions. They cannot change the law of 
propagation, nor of alimentation, nor of any 
other functional operation; they can form no 
conception of an object without dimensions and 
figure; they cannot conceive an effect without 
a cause; neither can they love pain, nor ap- 
prove internally of that they perceive to be bad 
or immoral. 

Who made the moral laws of man? 

The same Great Cause that traced the laws 
of man's physical and intellectual parts also 
instituted laws for the regulation of his moral 
nature — God, the Author of the universe. 

How does the Creator make known or reveal 
his laws? 

To inform man of his enactments, God has 
endowed him with understanding, to observe 
and to learn those that implicate his physical 
and intellectual natures ; and has implanted in 
his interior, sentiments which make him feel 
the moral laws. 

Is there not another source xohence knowledge 
of Moral Laws is derived? 



MORAL LAWS. 69 

Yes, Revelation; that is, knowledge com- 
municated by God to man in a supernatural 
manner. 

What are the advantages of Revelation 4 ? 
It is chiefly advantageous as it regulates man's 
uncertain notions of his Creator, and of his du- 
ties universally. 

Can man, in the study of his vegetative and 
intellectual natures, acquire a greater quantity 
of knowledge than God has revealed to him? 
There can be no doubt of it. 
Can the revelation of Moral Laws change 
or annihilate the lavjs of the vegetative and in- 
tellectual functions? 

To say it can, would be absurd, as putting 
God in contradiction with himself; for the God 
who reveals the moral duties and the God who 
creates the physical and intellectual functions 
are one and the same. 

Are the advocates of the natural laws Athe- 
ists? 

On the contrary, they entertain the most 
noble, the most pure, ideas of God; they never 
suppose him in contradiction with himself; they 
regard him as the Impartial Parent of the uni*- 



tO NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

verse, who treats all his children with equal 
kindness, who applies his laws without vari- 
ation, and without any distinction of persons. 

Are the advocates of the natural laics change- 
able and arbitrary in their judgments? 

No; they recognize but one law for all men, 
— for the teacher and the taught, the govenor 
and the governed. They have one determi- 
nate and invariable standard for their rule of 
conduct. 

Are the disciples of the natural laics hostile to 
the Christian code of morality? 

No; there they find traces of wisdom truly 
divine; the better they know its precepts, the 
more do they admire. Indeed they cannot do 
otherwise than approve, for they see that true 
Christian morality is the morality of nature, 
announced in a positive manner; they, therefore, 
hope it will speedily be repurified from the pa- 
gan, profitless, and superstitious observances 
with which its excellence has been contamina- 
ted, and its lustre obscured. 

What is the summary of the natural laic of 
morality? 

The faculties proper to man constitute his 



MORAL LAWS. 71 

moral nature; whatever, therefore, is in con- 
formity to the whole of these is morally good, 
whatever is in opposition to them is morally 
bad. 

What are the principal faculties which are 
peculiar to man? 

Reverence, Marvellousness, Ideality, Caus- 
ality, and in a certain degree Benevolence, 
Justice and Hope. 

Man's powers being innate do they act 
irresistibly? 

God in giving powers does not inflict the 
necessity of their acting. 

How far are the actions of Man to be called 
necessary, and how far are they free? 

They are necessary as far as there is no ef- 
fect without cause and as they depend on mo- 
tives. They are free as far as they are under 
the control of other powers, and whenever a 
choice among the motives takes place. 

Is the liberty of man unlimited? 
No, it is subject to conditions. 

Which are the necessary conditions of free- 

dom? 
1 . Intellect to make a choice among motives* 



7% NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

2. A plurality of motives. 

3. The influence of intellect on voluntary 
motion. 

How does liberty acquire the character of 
Morality, 

By the victory of the powers proper to man 
over his brute nature. 

Is it a difficult or an easy task to practise nat- 
ural morality? 

It is one of extreme difficulty. Man is uni- 
versally inclined to break the natural laws* 
'There is no perfectly just man. ' 

Is there a natural cause of moral evil? 

Many religious systems recognize a primi- 
tive seduction effected by an evil spirit, often 
represented under the form of a serpent; but the 
cause which continues to prompt man to in- 
fringe the moral law is in himself. 

Are there then any bad faculties in man? 

No faculty of human nature can be bad in 
itself, — the Author of the whole is all perfec- 
tion. The faculties are neither good nor bad; 
it is their employment only to which these ti- 
tles can be applied. 

Is it reasonable to decry human nature 7 



MORAL LAWS. 73 

It is absurd to decry human nature and at 
the same time to exalt religion, which is a part 
of the human constitution, and to teach that 
man is made in the likeness of God. 

Has the Creator willed the moral evil of 
man? 

Such an opinion is incompatible with the 
notion of a supremely benevolent and all 
wise God. 

Is man then destined for happiness ? 

To suppose an infinitely good Creator de- 
lighting in the misery of his creatures, is re- 
pugnant to good sense, and to propriety of feel- 
ing. Man, says Moses, was happy until the 
moment of his disobedience. 

What are the synonymes of Happiness and 
Misery } 

They are the words Pleasure and Pain. 

Is pleasure good or evil? 

It is frequently neither the one nor the other, 
and it may occasionally be both, though, in it- 
self, Pleasure can never be evil, seeing that it 
accompanies the activity of every fundamen- 
tal power, and that man possesses certain fac- 
ulties solely destined for his amusement; mu- 
7 



74 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN- 

sic, for instance, painting, sculpture, and the 
feeling that inspires mirth and laughter. 

Can Pleasure be the end or aim of man's 
existence*! 

No; because some acts evidently bad are ac- 
companied with pleasure. — The wicked man 
is pleased in his iniquity. We are therefore 
commanded by Morality to renounce pleasure 
as often as the faculties we possess in common 
with animals are in opposition to those peculiar 
to our humanity, or whenever these are not in 
harmony with each other. 

What is the grand cause of the moral misery 
of man? 

It consists in the great activity of the inferior 
or animal faculties. These, when combat- 
ed by the moral nature, suffer pain from the 
restraint. Moreover, the desires they ori- 
ginate are insatiable; the more they are indulg- 
ed, the more they crave indulgence. 

Is it probable that the struggle which accom- 
panies good conduct is a natural arrangement? 

Yes; for without the necessity of combat- 
ing the inferior propensities and sentiments, 
there could be no such thing as Virtue. This 



MORAL LAWS. 75 

implies a victory, which is not to be won with- 
out an adversary, and courage to make resis- 
tance. 

Since the Creator ordained that man should 
struggle, has he also decreed his fall } 

Reason and Morality proclaim the contrary. 
What must be done to render mankind hap- 
py? 

They must be made morally good, to the 
end that they may love moral actions ; in other 
words, the activity of the faculties peculiar to 
man must be increased, and the energy of 
those held in common with animals diminished. 

By what title are good actions distinguished, 
and what is he called who practises them? 

Good actions are entitled Virtues, and he 
who practises the virtues is styled Virtuous. 

Whence were these words derived, and what 
was their original meaning? 

They came from the Latin; and signified 
primarily, force or strength. This, indeed, 
may be physical, or it may be moral; but 
among the Romans, as among other warlike 
nations, bodily strength combined with cour- 
age was considered a most valuable quality. 



76 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

And since moral actions require an internal 
struggle, to render human nature, properly so 
called, triumphant, the title, Virtue, was also 
applied here. 

Is there any difference between the natural 
laws and the natural virtues? 

When the words, Law and Virtue, are used 
synonymously, the laws and virtues of na- 
ture are identical. But if Law be employed to 
signify the regularity with which forces act, and 
phenomena appear, and Virtue to denote the 
just employment of the faculties, a distinction 
between the two becomes necessary. 

How may virtuous actions be divided? 

According as the Divine laws, or the laws 
imposed by Men, are concerned. 

How may the Civil laws — laws imposed by 
men, be subdivided? 

1st, According to the nature of the legisla- 
tive power, as Despotic, Arbitrary, or Con- 
ventional laws. 

2d, According to the situations or circum- 
stances for which they are contrived, as the 
Civil code of laws, the Penal code, Commer- 
cial code, &c. 



MORAL LAWS. 77 

How may Divine laws — laws institued by 
God, be subdivided? 

Into Natural and Revealed. These two or- 
ders, however, must of necessity harmonize. 
To suppose that they differ, would be to sup- 
pose God in contradiction with himself. 

What then is the touchstone by ichich the 
excellence of a law, styled Revealed, or any in- 
terpretation of it, may be tried? 

Laws styled Revealed and interpretations of 
them, are perfect in proportion as they harmo- 
nize with the laws of the Creator, or possess 
the characteristics of a Natural law. 

What are the objects in relation to which 
Virtues and Vices are distinguished? 

1st, The Creator. 

2d, The beings of creation. 

3d, The agent, or being who acts- 

4th, His family. 

5th, His nation. 

6th, Mankind at large. 

How are laws denominated when considered 
in regard to their Divine origin? 

They are called Religious. 

Jlnd how are laws entitled when the necessity 

7* 



78 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

of man's submitting to, and practising them, is 
the view taken? 

They are then named Moral. 

May the Religious and Moral laws be sep- 
arately considered? 

Religious and Moral laws are intimately con- 
nected, yet not so intimately as to preclude the 
possibility or the propriety of considering- each 
class under a separate head. 



CHAPTER I. 

OF MORALITY. 

In what does a Moral doctrine consist? 

It is a doctrine of rights and of duties, and 
of those things which are, and of those things 
which are not, to be done. 

What is to be understood by moral philoso- 
phy? 

The term moral is sometimes used in op- 
position to physical, also styled natural and 
thejnoral philosophy means the doctrine of the 



MORAL LAWS. 79 

Mind; but the same term also signifies the high- 
er powers of Man in opposition to his brute 
nature, and in that sense, moral philosophy is 
the same as Ethics, the doctrine of rights and 
of duties, or of the moral precepts which ad- 
mit of proof by reasoning, and which bear the 
character of conviction. 

As to rights — has man any right over God? 

He has none. 

What duties, has man towards his Maker? 

To obey His will in all things. 

What rights has man over the beings of cre- 
ation generally? 

Man's superior endowment in faculties ele- 
vates him far above all else that lives, and he 
has a natural title to profit by his situation. 
Such a law is universal; it extends throughout 
the whole chain of created things. 

Can we then with propriety say that all was 
made solely for man? 

It is ill-directed pride alone that has promo- 
ted the conception or the utterance of such an 
assertion. Every creature advantages itself 
at the expense of others; and if man turn the 
whole to his profit, he only follows the com- 



80 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

mon course of nature. This, however, is far 
from showing that all was made solely for him. 
Geology indeed proves, that many beings in- 
habited the earth before the human kind was 
called into existence. 

Has man Hghts only over those creatures 
which, with himself \ enjoy existence? 

No; he has duties also towards them. Nei- 
ther the physical nor the purely animal nature 
knows aught of duty; but to these, man unites 
a third, which causes him to view his actions 
in relation to morality. An essential faculty of 
the moral man is Benevolence, and this forbids 
him to torment sentient beings for his pleasure. 
All cruelty to animals is, therefore, interdicted 
by Natural Morality. 

Is there a natural late, that allows man to 
kill animals for the sake of their flesh as food? 
Many tribes of the lower animals only live 
by shedding blood. Now the brute portion of 
his nature leads man to destroy just as it does 
the inferior creatures. Man's anatomical struc- 
ture proves also, that he is fitted to live upon 
flesh; and further, he thrives on such food. 
Still, his benevolence ought to restrain him from 



MORAL LAWS. 81 

the commission of every act of cruelty, either 
against the lower animals or his fellow-men. 

What Virtues may be entitled Individual? 

Every action whose end is development and 
preservation of the body, the understanding, 
and the moral character of the Individual. 

Wherein consists the difference between In- 
dividual Virtues and those Virtues which regard 
Families, Nations, and the whole Human kind? 

It lies in the employment that is made of the 
corporeal, affective, and intellectual powers, 
to further the happiness of ourselves, of our 
families 5 or of mankind in general. 

Which of these Virtues is the most excellent 
and ennobling? 

That which interests the whole human kind 
is eminently superior to all the rest. True it 
is, indeed, that this is generally lost sight of 
altogether. In the appreciation of the Virtues, 
the scale of their worth is commonly reversed. 
Most men think first of themselves, then of their 
familes, then of their country, and seldom ex- 
pend a thought upon humanity at large . There 
are even few who recognize the happiness of 
the species as the aim of man's existence, and 



82 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

the subordination of all else to this. Yet nature 
shows most evidently that she does all for the 
species; she universally sacrifices individuals 
to its preservation. Moreover, desire of self- 
preservation inheres in all animals, love of fam- 
ily and of country in a smaller number, but 
love of the entire species is a distinguishing 
character of man in his best estate. 

Is it to be expected that man will speedily 
practise the virtue of universal love? 

No; hitherto the happiness of countries has 
been sacrificed to that of families and of indi- 
viduals; but general philanthropy is commonly 
•decried and scouted as an aberration of the un- 
derstanding; and this, too, in despite of the ex- 
press command of Christianity. 

The basis of natural morality being deter- 
mined,* and the sources of good and evil being 
ascertained to be internal,} what method may be 
advantageously pursued in examining Virtu- 
ous and Vicious actions? 

These may be considered according to pri- 
mary faculties, as it is their employment that 
is good or bad. 

What Virtues belong to the sexual propensity? 
* See page 70. fSee page 72. 



MORAL LAWS. 83 

Chastity, and the gratification cf the appe- 
tite guided by the laws of hereditary descent. 

Are Continence and Chastity useful to indi- 
viduals? 

Moderation in sexual indulgence promotes 
bodily strength, and favors health. Hence 
the Athletae of antiquity were enjoined Conti- 
nence during their preparations for exhibiting 
feats of strength and agility. 

Is the Continence enforced in monastic in- 
stitutions to be regarded as an absolute virtue? 

To entitle it to such consideration, it must 
be proved advantageous to individuals, to 
communities, and to the species at large. 

What evil effects attend on Celibacy? 

The unwedded are apt to become selfish, 
and to neglect the social and domestic virtues. 
Celibacy, therefore, may sometimes be a vice. 

Why did Jesus Christ, our model of Justice 
upon earth, advise his disciples against mar- 
riage? 

Probably that they might have all leisure 
and liberty to teach and spread abroad the 
knowledge of the new doctrine. 

Is there any merit in abnegating marriage 
through love of the public good? 



84 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Celibacy on such grounds is an act of the 
greatest virtue. 

Can Celibacy under any circumstances bean 
error*! 

Yes, when denial disturbs the general 
functions of the body; when it destroys appe- 
tite, causes sleeplessness, and induces unheal- 
thy action of any sort; or when it occasions hy- 
pocrisy and mendacity, for instance, in those 
who make a religious virtue of it, and act in 
opposition to their professions. 

What are the Vices of the sexual propensity? 

Libertinage, seduction, adultery, and incest. 

What are the consequences of Libertinage? 

Bodily infirmity, mental weakness, the con- 
traction of bad habits and of disease, the ruin of 
fortune, and a thousand ills beside. 

Why should Chastity be a greater virtue, and 
Incontinence a greater vice, among females than 
males? 

Because the latter superinduces the same 
diseases in both sexes, and the bodies of wo- 
men being less robust than those of men, they 
suffer more from their effects. Women too 
are exposed to all the inconveniences that pre- 



MORAL LAWS- 85 

cede, accompany, and follow child-bearing; 
and becoming mothers illegally, if, as is more 
than probable, they be abandoned by their 
seducers, they find themselves shunned by 
society, and burthened with a family without 
adequate means of support. Victims of self- 
reproach, sunk in wretchedness, and disgusted 
with life, they can then only look forward to 
the grave as the goal at which their miseries 
may terminate. 

Is Polygamy agreeable or contrary to the 
law of natural morality } 

Polygamy has only obtained among men 
through excessive activity of the sexual pro- 
pensity in individuals, and the right of the strong- 
est. There are certainly not more females than 
males born, and the law which says, 'Love 
thy neighbor as thyself, 5 forbids appropriation, 
if it can be effected only by robbing others of 
the share of enjoyment destined for them by na- 
ture. Polygamy is therefore in opposition to 
the natural law of morality. 

What should be required in the parties who 
would contract marriage? 

They ought to possess all the conditions re- 

8 



86 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

quired by the laws of hereditary descent.* 
What individuals should abstain from mar- 
Tying*) 

All who have the seeds of a serious heredi- 
tary malady in their constitutions; all who are 
weak in body or in mind; and all who have the 
distinguishing attributes of humanity in small 
proportions. Such abstinence would be of far 
more importance to mankind than the celibacy 
practised by the teachers of religion and mor- 
ality in some countries. 

Is it not improper to insist so strongly on the 
laws of hereditary descent, seeing that they lim- 
it a natural desire, implanted by the Creator? 

By no means. Not only the laws of hered- 
itary descent but also the sexual appetite, are 
of divine origin; and it is much rather a crime 
to be ignorant of the laws of hereditary descent, 
or, knowing them, to neglect their practice, 
than recklessly to indulge the sexual propen- 
sity. 

Is Incest a crime against natural morality] 

It appears to be so; for those families, of 
which the near relations intermarry, degen- 
erate. 

* See Page 26. 



MORAL LAWS. 87 

Is Adultery also an infringement of the na- 
tural law f 

Yes; because it causes disorder, destroys 
conjugal confidence, and ruins domestic order 
and tranquillity. 

Is marriage or union for life, an institution 
of nature? 

Yes; even animals, especially many birds, 
are united for the term of their lives, and man 
is so likewise in obedience to a law, which in- 
heres in the faculty of Attachment, and this is 
common to himself and the lower animals. 

Is Divorce permitted by natural morality? 

Yes. The couples which have no family,, 
or which can provide for the children they 
may have, in as far as justice requires, do well 
to separate rather than continue to live in per- 
petual warfare. The consequences which fol- 
low ill assorted unions are much more serious to 
the parties, to their children, and to society 
at large, than such as attend on divorce. Were 
the sexes what they ought to be, there would 
indeed be no occasion to permit divorce. The 
conjugal union would then, without any res- 
traint, terminate <mih life. In the mean time,. 



88 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

however, divorce should be obtainable seeing 
that the social institutions ought to be the sour- 
ces of happiness and not of misery. And 
whatever lessens happiness and causes misery, 
is evil, and contrary to nature. 

What are the virtues of Love of Offspring? 

The care which parents take in aiding the 
bodily and mental development of their chil- 
dren, in cultivating their talents, and superin- 
ducing habits useful to themselves and to their 
fellow-men; in a word, the efforts given to 
bring them up in the knowledge and practice of 
truth and justice. 

Is such parental virtue common? 

It is unfortunately very rare. Children are 
generally produced without a thought given to 
the laws of hereditary descent and reared mere- 
ly to please, or serve as pastimes to their pa- 
rents; who more commonly attend to what may 
ilatter their own capricious tastes, than to what 
may be substantially useful to their children 
and the commonwealth. Children are fre- 
quently spoilt through indulgent weakness,, 
(when their waywardness and unruliness are 
insufferable,) or they are forced to a meau and 



MORAL LAWS. 89 

slavish submissiveness of deportment equally 
unpleasing and pernicious. To give a good di- 
rection to Philoprogenitiveness requires a com- 
plete knowledge of human nature generally, 
and of the qualities necessary to glide the in- 
dividuals — the particular subjects of atten- 
tion. 

What are the fundamental duties of parents 
to their children? 

To procure them a good organic constitution, 
to exercise those faculties with which they are 
endowed, and to choose them a suitable pro- 
fession; to instruct them in the laws of their 
Creator; to show them the necessity of submit- 
ting to these, and to set the example of obedi- 
ence. 

Is it the duty of parents to leave riches to their 
children? 

Natural morality forbids the accumulation of 
riches; and surely parents cannot be obliged to 
do aught which may pave the way to the im- 
morality and degeneracy of their children. 

Have parents a natural right to obedience 
from their children? 

So long as children remain dependent on 
8* 



90 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

their parents, they are bound to obey them, 
but this obligation ceases with the state of de- 
pendence. 

What are the duties of children towards their 
parents? 

Children so long as they are dependent must 
respect their parents as superiors and bene- 
factors, and repay the attachment and tender 
cares they have received, with interest, during 
the term of their lives. The child when born 
is indebted to parental love for the very con- 
tinuance of its life, and old age has frequent 
occasion for the aids of filial piety and affection. 

What are the duties of a husband? 

He ought to have a trade or profession, to 
procure food and clothing for himself and his fa- 
mily, which he is to watch over and protect, 
and also to have a portion of his time at the 
command of the public service. 

What are the duties of a wife ? 

To take care of the interior of the house, and 
to arrange all matters connected with the do- 
mestic economy; to instruct the boys in the ru- 
diments of learning, and to educate the girls 
entirely. 



MORAL LAWS. 91 

What are the principal virtues of Attach- 
ment? 

Society, Friendship, and Patrial love. 

Is Society , or the social state, an institution 
of nature ? 

Man is no where found solitary; he is at the 
least one of a family; families unite and form 
tribes, and these compose nations. 

Can society, of itself, be said to produce 
virtues or vices? 

Society is the consequence of an innate 
primary faculty, and social virtues and social 
vices, as they are called, result from its com- 
binations with other fundamental powers. The 
institutions destined to direct mankind in their 
actions are and will continue to be the princi- 
pal causes of their virtues and of their vices, 
so long as internal motives, sufficient to in- 
duce the practice of morality, independently 
of all enactments, shall not be*experiencd. 

Is Patrial love commanded by natural mo- 
rality? 

Natural morality recognizes no one species 
of exclusive love as a supreme law; love ofna- 



92 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

tive land is admitted, but still as subordinate 
to uriversal love. Partiality is an attribute 
of the animal nature, General Love of proper 
humanity alone. 

Wherein lies the difference between Conju- 
gal love, Family love, Fraternal love, and 
P atrial love 6 } 

Each kind depends on the faculty of At- 
tachment combined with other and different 
powers. Attachment with the sexual propen- 
sity begets conjugal love, with love of offspring 
family love; the love of a fraternity is based 
upon an attachment with success in particular 
views or plans, and the love of native country 
on an attachment extended to the land of our 
birth, to its manners and mode of living, to the 
men speaking the same language, governed by 
the same laws as ourselves, &c. 

What is the direction of Attachment which 
is conformable to natural morality, and, con- 
sequently, positively Virtuous? 

That which is bestowed on those who sub- 
mit to the laws of the Creator. 

And what direction of Attachment is vicious? 

That which is not given agreeable to natu- 
ral morality. 



MORAL LAWS. 93 

Are there any positive codes that exact at- 
tachment in conformity with natural morality. 

Yes; the Indian system of morals, and the 
code of Jesus command us to know as brothers 
and as sisters those only who do the will of 
God. . 

Is resistance of attack, or self-defence, per- 
mitted by natural morality 9 

Courage is a primary faculty of human nature, 
and its proper employment a virtue. Such a 
power, in the order of things, was indispensa- 
ble to individual preservation and well being* 
It is a frequent means in procuring aliment, it 
-enables us to overcome obstacles, and is even 
useful in maintaining peace. 

Is personal courage assisted by muscular 
strength? 

So much so, that several philosophers have 
conceived it a result of this. Courage, how- 
ever, is the appanage of no particular degree 
of muscularity or bodily power. 

Is Courage in itself either Virtue or Vice? 

Ancient philosophers ranked it as one of 
the four cardinal Virtues, but in itself Courage 
is neither Virtue nor Vice; one or other of these 



94 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

titles it gains according to its just or unjust 
employment. 

When is Courage a Virtue? 

When it is displayed in conformity with i 
tural morality. 

And when is Courage a Vice? 

When it aids the animal nature against that 
which is peculiarly human. 

What are the chief Vices of Courage?, 

War of aggression; Quarelsomeness;. Love 
of Fighting and of witnessing Combats between 
animals or men, Dispute, Contention, &c. 

What employment of Courage desert es to be 
praised and rewarded? 

Such as favors natural morality is alone 
commendable, is alone worthy of reward. 

What is the right which man possesses 
through his propensity to destroy? 

It is that of killing other animals for the sake 
of their flesh. Violent death is one of Nature's 
enactments, and man has that in his constitu- 
tion which originates the law. 

Jlas man a title to torment animals in any 
way whatever? 

No; his moral part forbids all cruel amuse- 



MORAL LAWS, 95 

ments, and all indulgence at the expense of 
suffering to any living and sentient being. 

Has man a right to slay his fellow men? 
lOnly when he cannot otherwise defend his 
life, or if this be the sole means of preventing; 
malefactors from committing murder. 

Is capital punishment admissible in society? 

Society may agree to inflict death to get rid 
of evU-doers; but it is unjust and cruel to re- 
sort tcl such an extreme measure until every 
other means has been tried, and found ineffec- 
tual to protect the community against crimin- 
als. Yet it is understood that this, as well as 
all other penalties, is to be applied universally, 
and without distinction of persons. 

Does not man's pecnlia* part revolt at the 
idea y andnatural morality command the aboli- 
tion^ of capital punishment? 

Man's ennobling and peculiar nature does 
only good> it never returns evil for evil, or 
takes revenge; it consequently commands the 
abolition of capital punishment. It is the an- 
imal nature, combined with the simple sense of 
justice, which has established the law of re- 
taliation — the lex talionis. Man's proper na- 



96 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

lure may, however, lawfully employ the Sni- 
mal faculties to enforce and to assist natural 
morality, and capital punishment must be in* 
flicted if with its abolition the number of crimes 
should increase. 

Is the practice of Duelling permitted by the 
law of natural morality? 

Duelling is opposed to every one of its pre- 
cepts. He who sheds blood in a duel is guilty 
of murder. The custom originated m the 
right of the strongest, and its continuance is 
one of the remains of barbarism. 

Is icar between nations agreeable to natural 
morality? 

He who, under any circumstances, attacks 
and puts another to death, commits a murder 
in the eye of God. All wars of conquest are 
utterly at variance with the moral law. De- 
fensive war is alone lawful. Every nation, 
like every individual, has the undoubted right 
of repelling any other that would attempt to 
enslave it. It has even a right to destroy its 
enemies, if there be no other means of pre- 
serving its liberties and independent existence. 

What are the good effects of the faculty of 
Constructiveness ? 



MORAL LAWS. 97 

This faculty is the source of the mechanical 
arts; its employment is virtuous when it adds 
to the means of subsistence, and favors the 
general welfare; for instance, when it procures 
a good dwelling-house, convenient articles of 
furniture, or clothing which does not impede 
the motions of the body, and which protects it 
from the inclemencies of the seasons, or the 
sudden variations of atmospherical tempera- 
ture. 

In what manner does the faculty of Construc- 
tiveness work evil ? 

The mechanical arts are injurious to mankind 
by introducing luxury. Ordinary enjoyments 
then suffice no longer, and the desires are 
guided by caprice. To meet the many and 
expensive demands thus incurred, large sums of 
money are required, and to procure these, ev- 
ery means is adopted without scruple. Mor- 
als thus become corrupted, and a highway 
opened to all the miseries which attend degen- 
erating men and declining empires. It was 
with justice that the ancient moralists founded 
the social virtues upon simplicity of manners, 
restriction of wants, and contentment with little. 
9 



98 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

In what does a just employment , or virtuous 
direction of the faculty of Acquisitiveness, con- 
sist? 

In procuring the necessaries of life, or as 
the Christian code has styled it, 'our daily 
bread. 5 

Is property permitted by natural morality? 
Yes; for as all who live must subsist, all must 
have a right to that, at least, which is neces- 
sary to support life. 

Is it agreeable or contrary to natural mo- 
rality to amass great wealth? 

No one can accumulate riches without doing 
injury to his neighbor, and violence to the 
natural moral law, which says, 'Love thy 
neighbor as thyself.' The moral law gives 
c their daily bread' to all who employ the tal- 
ents they possess, but it gives no more. 

Does natural morality permit animals to be 
kept for the purposes merely of pleasure and 
extravagance? 

No. In as much as man is more worthy 
than beasts, it is against natural law to give 
to horses and dogs the daily bread of men, or 
the provender which would feed cattle, whose 



MORAL LAWS. 99 

flesh is both useful and necessary as aliment, 
to the human kind. 

Which are the most useful classes in man- 
kind? 

They are such as by their industry produce, 
or augment, the value of things — agricultur- 
ists and artizans. 

Jlnd what classes are the most useless? 

Such as do nothing but consume. 

Does natural morality set limits to the grat- 
ification of the love of gain? 

Certainly it does. The love of gain is the 
most formidable of all enemies to the law of 
neighborly love. Men brought up under the 
influence of the spirit of trade, generally en- 
deavor by every means in their power to evade 
the commands of natural morality. 

Does the natural moral law grant exclusive 
advantages to individuals under the form of 
privileges or monopolies? 

No; on the contrary, it commands every 
one to employ the talents entrusted to his 
care, for the advancement of the common good, 
the universal weal of man. 

What are the privileges accounted the least 
blameable among good men? 



100 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Such as are granted for inventions and use- 
ful discoveries. 

Is it conformable to the law of natural moral- 
ity to secure the eldest males of families in 
large possessions, to the exclusion of the other 
children? 

It is against every one of its precepts. 

Is hereditary wealth favorable or prejudi- 
cial to the culture of morality? 

To amass great wealth is immoral, it is im- 
moral to leave great riches to children. Man 
is naturally disposed to be idle; and common- 
ly yields to the inclination, if not compelled to 
exertion. But idleness is a fertile source of 
immorality. It ruins the health, enervates 
the mind, and makes life a curse. Moses says 
well — 'Man was born to earn his bread by 
the sweat of his brow. ' 

Hoxo do the rich usually apologize for their 
great possessions? 

They introduce God as the disposer of all 
things; they boast of being his favorites, and 
say, Providence gave them all they have. 
Nevertheless they might be answered by a 
reference to the Christian code, where they 



MORAL LAWS. 101 

will find themselves admonished to give their 
riches to the poor, in order more easily to en- 
ter the kingdom of heaven. There, too, 
they will learn, that the indulgence in superflu- 
ities, and hoarding of treasures, while thous- 
ands of their fellow-men are living around 
them in indigence, is utterly at variance with 
the express injunction to treat our neighbor as 
ourselves. The love of money, said the apos- 
tle Paul to Timothy, is the root of all evil. 

This presumptuous error may be further ex- 
posed by recurring to the history of rich fam- 
ilies. These have always degenerated in cor- 
poreal and mental qualities; their properties, if 
not secured by arbitrary laws, consequently 
pass away into ojther hands; and, in fine, no 
living evidence of their ever having existed rem- 
ains — -their very name is consigned to oblivion. 

Are we required by natural morality to labor 
and support the idler? 

Whilst it commands aid to the unfortunate 

and to the infirm, who are unable by their own 

exertions to procure the means of existence, 

natural morality enjoins the rejection, of the 

sluggard and drone as unworthy. The Apos- 
9# 



102 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

tie Paul in his second letter to the Thessalon- 
ians, iii. 10, said: 'when we were with you, this 
we commanded you, that if any would not 
work, neither should he eat. ' 

When we see that arts and sciences espe- 
cially flourish ivhen every one strives for his 
individual advantage , is it not likely, that, as 
this could not continue under the dominion of 
natural morality, all would droop beneath its 
reign? 

It were indeed no very agreeable reflection, 
for the industrious and the talented to think 
that they w r ere laboring for the indolent and in- 
capable. Meantime, however, they should al- 
so remember, that they have no natural title, 
on the strength of a patent or charter of privi- 
lege, to deprive others of the opportunity to 
earn a livelihood, and much less, on account of 
their superior endowments, to make others la- 
bor for their peculiar advantage. 

But has not he who contrives or procures 
work for others a natural right to gain more 
than they? 

The civil law says, yes, but the Christian and 



MORAL LAWS. 103 

natural moral codes recognize no such privi- 
ledge. As we live in the world at present, 
the laws should apportion to each person who 
labors his share of the profit, according to his 
talents, industry and care. This would be 
necessary, so long as selfishness predominates 
to its present extent. Legislators should fa- 
vor the working classes as much as possible 
and use every means of rendering the reign of 
natural morality practical. 

Is it possible to do away with all sense of 
individual property? 

To attempt such a thing with men as they are 
now constituted, would be to annihilate even the 
hope of general happiness. It would cause 
crimes and calamities of every description. 
The certainty of this exists in the evidently 
immoral disposition of by far the greatest por- 
tion of mankind, and in the general prevalence 
of cupidity, and in the distribution of talents. 

To accomplish the beneficial abolition of 
private property, every individual ought to feel 
pleasure in acting according to the commands 
of the natural and Christian moral doctrines* 
Until then, property must be respected. The 



104 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

early Christians attempted the measure of ab- 
olition; all things were in common among them; 
but experience proved that mankind were not 
then in a condition to adopt such a system; and 
they are still at an infinite distance from the 
perfection which might render it practicable. 
When, when will men be able to obey the law 
of universal love! 

May natural morality, to a certain extent 
be united loith the existence of individual pos- 
sessions'? 

Yes; by fixing the maximum of property, 
and the conditions under which this may law- 
fully be acquired. The general welfare is al- 
ways to be taken as the foundation in such con- 
siderations. Manufacturers should be obliged 
to lay out part of their gains in bettering the con- 
dition, and adding to the comforts, of their la- 
borers, — above all, they ought to be prevented 
from injuring the health and morals of those in 
their employment. 

Does natural morality set bounds to national, 
us well as to individual, love of gain? 

Nations, which enrich themselves to the de- 
triment of others, act contrary to the laws of 



MORAL LAWS. 105 

morality. The natural and Christian doctrines 
place Universal above Patriallove. That peo- 
ple, which prevents the participation of its 
neighbors in the advantages it enjoys, though 
it may arrogate the title, is no Christian nation. 

Are Sumptuary laws just or necessary? 

Did manufacturers, and the inhabitants of 
every country, love their neighbors as them- 
selves, sumptuary laws would be useless. No 
one, then, would wish to enrich himself in par- 
ticular, the products of every land would be 
freely exchanged, and manufactures carried on 
and perfected wherever it could be done most 
advantageously. In brief, the universal good 
would be the sole consideration, and the efforts 
of all be directed to the accomplishment of this 

great end. 

Prohibitory laws in general, are not, how- 
ever, sufficient to establish natural morality ; are 
they? 

No. They may, in some measure, prevent 
the evils which result from the over activity 
of the inferior inclinations, but to better the 
lot of man, it would be necessary to diminish 
his animality, and to increase the energy of his 
peculiar humanity. 



106 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN 

What are the Vices of the desire to acquire*? 

Usury, Fraud, Gambling, and Theft in gen- 
eral. 

Has the word Theft the same meaning in the 
civil as in the natural code } 

Natural morality declares many actions to 
be Thefts which are permitted by civil laws. 
Every one according to the first, deserves the 
name of Thief, who does not love his neighbor 
as himself; he, for instance, who amasses wealth 
by means of the industry of others. In the 
eye of civil laws, however, he only is a Thief 
who takes, by force or fraud, aught that, agree- 
ably to the law, belongs to another. 

Is theft, in the sense of the civil law, forbid- 
den by Christianity 1 ? 

Yes; the Christian doctrine forbids evil of 
every kind. 

Does it go no farther? 

Much: it not only forbids evil, it in addition 
commands universal love, and in this it har- 
monizes with natural morality. 'They who 
came before me,' said Jesus, 'were thieves.' 
He desired us to be satisfied with our daily 
bread. 



MORAL LAWS. 107 

What are the virtues, and what the vices , of 
the Propensity to conceal (Secretiveness)? 

The faculty is Virtuous when employed in 
the cause of general welfare, and Vicious when 
it gives rise to lying, hypocrisy, cunning, in- 
intrigue, and duplicity. 

What are the Virtues of Cautiousness? 

Prudence, doubt, and just timidity. 

And its vices? 

Irresolution, puerile terror, melancholy and 
despair. 

Is Prudence necessary in teaching truth? 

The light that is shed, ought certainly to be 
apportioned to the capacity of bearing it in 
those who are the subjects of instruction. Jesus 
mentioned that he had yet many things to say 
which his disciples could not bear. 'There is 
nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and 
hid, that shall not be known; 5 Math. x. 26. He 
taught them in parables concerning the kingdom 
of heaven, but added: 'what I tell you in dark- 
ness that speak ye in light, and what ye hear 
in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops;' 
Matth. x. 27. 

What are the Virtues and the Vices of Self- 
esteemf 



108 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

True dignity and nobleness of character de~ 
pend in part on self-esteem, and the faculty is 
virtuously employed in the production of such 
an effect. But self-sufficiency, pride, haugh- 
tiness, and disdainful or contemptuous bearing, 
are consequences of its over activity and ill di- 
rection. Coarseness of manners, too, under 
certain circumstances, and impertinence, are 
increased by self-esteem. 

What is the signification of the word Hu- 
mility? 

It is synonymous with the inaction of self- 
esteem. Humility, to be a virtue, must result 
from the struggle between self-esteem and the 
moral sentiments, and the victory of the lat- 
ter. Humility is also occasionally used to sig- 
nify activity in the Sentiment of Respectful- 
ness (Reverence). 

Is self-esteem a necessary quality ! 

Yes; it favors general independence. Sub- 
missiveness on the part of one, encourages 
pride and the love of dominion in another. 
Self-esteem should adjust the balance be- 
tween the ideas of our own, and of others' 
importance. Its virtuous functions emanate 



MORAL LAWS. 109 

from its combinations with the faculties prop- 
er to man. 

What Virtues and ivhat Vices belong to the 
faculty of Love of Approbation? 

This sentiment contributes essentially to the 
union of mankind; politeness of deportment 
and delicacy in language, deference in society, 
obligingness of manner, and good breeding 
generally, are among its agreeable manifesta- 
tions. But petit-maitreism, vanity, ostenta- 
tion, ambition, love of titles, and of all kinds of 
mundane distinctions, are consequences of its 
ill directed activity. 

Is it easy or difficult to guide Self-esteem 
and Love of Approbation in the path indicated 
by natural morality? 

It is extremely difficult. c To fly the age we 
live in,' says Confucius, # 'to suffer without re- 
pining, to pass unknown and unnoticed among 
men, is a task to be accomplished only by a 
saint.' The great energy of these two senti- 
ments, strengthened as they are by the loye of 
gain, and the inferior inclinations generally, 
occasion innumerable evils in the world, and 

* Invariable Millieu. Chap. xi. 
10 



110 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

excite doubts of the possibility of natural mor- 
ality ever being established as the rule of con- 
duct. The Christian law declares itself, in 
terms which cannot be more positive or more 
severe, against abuses of Self-esteem and Love 
of Approbation; nevertheless, they who style 
themselves believers, and the faithful, par ex- 
cellence, even the preachers of tha doctrine 
of Jesus, have continued, and still continue, as 
well as pagans, to be delighted with the grat- 
ifications these faculties 'afford, and to attribute 
to the Supreme Being tastes and weaknesses 
similar to their own. 

What are the Virtues of Benevolence? 

Meekness, the Spirit of peace, Clemency, 
Toleration, Liberality, Forgivingness of Tem- 
per, Hospitality, Equity, and Neighborly 
Love. 

Is christian charity a single faculty} 

No; it embraces the whole of the moral 
law, and the regulation of every action that 
concerns our fellow-men. 

Is ''Alms-giving a virtue? 

It is a Virtue or it is a Vice according as the 
general happiness is thereby affected. If it en- 



MORAL LAWS. Ill 

courage idleness, society suffers, and it is evi- 
dently blameable. When the truly deserving 
are its objects, and it is directed to purposes 
generally useful, it is conformable to natural 
morality, and is praise-worthy. Indiscriminate 
charity is never to be recommended. 

Can Benevolence be any ivay injurious to 
mankind? 

Immensely. If not directed by reason com- 
bined with the sentiment of Justice, it may en- 
courage slothfulness and poverty, and all the 
vices that attend on these. It may also dis- 
pose to prodigality and squandering. 
Is Respectfulness a natural Virtue? 
Yes; nature has implanted a primary senti- 
ment, its cause, in the constitution of man. 

What objects especially deserve the respect 
of man? 

The Supreme Cause, Parents, those who 
teach the laws of the Creator, those who watch 
over their accomplishment, and, in general, 
all that is benevolent, just, and true. 
JMay respect ever be ill-directed? 
It is but too frequently bestowed altogether 
unworthily upon superstitious notions and ob- 



112 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

servances, and upon antiquated forms, usages, 
and precedents. 

This sentiment then requires guidance in its 
application? 

Certainly; and reason ought especially to 
rectify the errors it has committed in regard to 
religion. All the sentiments, without excep- 
tion, are blind, and require the aid of intelli- 
gence in their operation; without it they can 
never act in harmony with the whole of the na- 
ture of man. 

But does not belief suffice to direct the reli- 
gious sentiments? 

No; for religious belief has induced men to 
admit the most contradictory and many nox- 
ious propositions, under the idea that we ought 
to obey God rather than man; moreover, that 
which belief leads one to style venerable and 
holy, is often, by another, called absurd and 
impious. 

The religious sentiments are given to man as 
sources of happiness, are they not? 

That they are given to produce good is ev- 
ident; they are the gift of a good God, but hi- 
therto they have been cruelly abused. 



MORAL LAWS. 113 

What course would most directly tend to 
abolish the errors, and, for the future, to avoid 
the disorders, which have been committed in the 
name of religion*! 

It would be necessary to begin by permit- 
ting the free use of reason. This, too, would 
be the first step towards effecting the union of 
all religious people. As yet the blind lead the 
blind, but reason ought to enlighten and direct 
the religious, as well as the other primitive feel- 
ings. 

Is belief natural to man? 
Few examine and combine their ideas. The 
greater number admit what they like best, or 
what flatters their feelings and senses most. 
They who hope for much, willingly believe 
promises made to them in the name of heaven. 
They who are inclined to admire and to seek 
after the marvellous, readily give credit to aught 
that seems mysterious. And they who com- 
bine the sentiment of respectfulness, with the 
two that produce these effects, are fit agents 
for the execution of whatever they are told is 
necessary to the glory of God. 

Is the believing and benevolent man every 
thing we expect of humanity? 



114 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

No; he may be still unfurnished with many 
very essential qualities, such as Justice — the 
fountain-head of morality, Reason — the sole 
guide of action, and Perseverance, the indis- 
pensable assistant in the task of completion. 

Does the sentiment of conscientiousness of 
itself suffice to prevent injustice 6 } 

It does not. This sentiment, it is true, feels 
the desire of acting justly; but it is blind, and 
must be enlightened by reason, before its ac- 
tions can be recognised as just. It is Reason, 
therefore, that declares every thing done in 
conformity with the dictates of the faculties pe- 
culiar to man to be just, and every thing con- 
trary to their commands to be unjust. 

Is natural morality the same as positive jus- 
tice? 

The natural and the Christian moral codes 
agree, but they both differ from the civil laws. 
These last only forbid the doing of things to 
others which we would not that they did to us; 
whilst the natural and Christian morality, far 
more noble, command the doing to others the 
things which we would that they did to us. 

Can the sentiment of .conscientiousness do 
harm? 



MORAL LAWS. 115 

Yes; by acting uncombined with Reason, 
and those powers generally which are peculiar 
to man. 

What Virtues and what Vices belong to the 
faculty of Firmness or Perseverance? 

Perseverance in whatever is true, just, and 
reasonable, is Virtuous; but to persist in what 
is false, unjust, and unreasonable, is Vicious. 

Is man generally , as he is now constituted, 
capable of accomplishing the precepts of natu- 
of morality? 

No; neither the governors nor the governed 
are generally susceptible of such superlative 
virtue. All that good men can do at present, 
is to demonstrate the existence of the system 
of natural morality, to submit to it, and to spread 
abroad its knowledge; to examine into the ob- 
stacles which oppose its admission; and to pro- 
pose the means necessary to prepare mankind 
for the happy epoch, when they will be capa* 
ble of enjoying the blessings it must diffuse, 
by being made the rule of action. 

Is the cultivation of the Understanding to be 
regarded as a duty? 
Intelligence is one of nature's gifts; it is there* 



116 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

fore destined to act. Our existence, indeed, 
depends on it. Without understanding we 
should know neither external objects and their 
qualities, nor the laws which govern the physi- 
cal and moral world; neither could we have 
any moral liberty. 

Is understanding recognised as necessary to 
free will? 

Yes; according to all the systems of legis- 
lation, idiots, and children before a certain age, 
are not accountable for their actions, because 
they are unable to distinguish between good 
and evil. 

Are the functions of the intellectualfaculties 
Virtuous or Vicious*! 

They may be either. Intelligence is a 
means of doing both good and evil. To be 
Virtuous it must second natural morality, which 
is the. end of our being. 

What is the vice or sin against Intelli- 
gence? 

It is Ignorance, the cause of a great num- 
ber of evils. Ignorance commits endless er- 
rors; it acts unconscious of causes and of ef- 
fects, and can never repair the disasters it oc- 
casions. 



MORAL LAWS. 117 

Is man's ignorance greats 

It is exceedingly great. The most com- 
mon and necessary things are totally unknown 
to the bulk of mankind. 

Why is man's ignorance so greaf? 

The cause lies in the generally small size of 
the organs of his intellectual faculties. This 
is also the reason why study is so commonly 
irksome and distasteful. Moreover, the civil, 
and especially the religious, governors of na- 
tions, have frequently opposed every sort of 
obstacle to the cultivation of Intellect, and the 
diffusion of knowledge. 

What difference is there between Ignorance 
and presumptuous stupidity (sottise in 
French) ? 

Ignorance is compatible with the presence 
of excellent natural capacities; presumptuous 
stupidity depends on deficiency of the intellect- 
ual powers, joined to self-esteem and preten- 
sions to learning. 

Is Ignorance despicable? 

Not in itself; and provided every opportu- 
nity of gaining information and exercising the 
mental powers be laid hold on. 



118 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

Is it the same in regard to presumptuous 
stupidity? 

No. This is despised by every sensible 
person, for it invariably leads men to neglect 
the means of instruction. 

What is the difference between a learned 
and a wise man? 

Every man who knows much is learned: 
but he only is wise who has acquired practical 
knowledge; that is knowledge, applicable in the 
affairs of life. The wise man also endeavors to 
account for what he observes, and to discover 
principles, in comformity with which he may 
constantly act. 

Is it necessary, for the sake of morality, to 
cultivate the Understanding? 

Although neither the religious nor the moral 
sentiments spring from Understanding, they 
still require its guidance in their application, 
and its aid in enabling them to act harmoniously 
with all the other faculties of human nature. 

What should be the aim of every description 
of study? 

The establishment of Truth and attainment 
of Perfection. 'Truth,' says Confucius, 'is 



MORAL LAWS. 119 

the law of Heaven,' and 'Perfection is the 
beginning and the end of all things.' 

What is the basis on which the perfecting of 
mankind must proceed? 

Knowledge of human nature, and submission 
to the laws of the Creator; — Conviction that 
nothing can be created, but only modified and 
reproduced according to determinate condi- 
tions. 

How might the adoption of the natural laws, 
as the rule of conduct, be most speedily effect- 
ed? 

By governments exacting their practice, and 
joining the authority of example, by obeying 
their commands. 

What are the essential requisites in a legis- 
lator? 

He ought to know the nature of the being for 
whom he enacts laws, to believe in natural mo- 
rality, and to attest his belief by his actions. 

Have men any right mutually to impose 
their wills as rules of moral conduct? 

They most certainly have not. There is 
but one will that ought to be done — the Will 
of God, and this, in morality, commands im- 



120 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

periously to man, c Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself.' 

May the doctrine of Morality become a sci- 
ence? 

There can be no doubt it may by studying 
the laws of the Creator and by comparing 
them with pure Christianity. 



CHAPTER II. 

OF RELIGION. 
I. 
OF RELIGION IN GENERAL. 

Has every one a right to inquire into religious 
matters? 

It seems absurd that a particular profession 
should enjoy the privilege to establish religious 
opinions incumbent on all the rest of the com- 
munity, whilst it seems right that every reason- 
able mind should examine the most important, 
viz. the religious part of his constitution. 



OF RELIGION. 121 

Has the phrenologist in' particular a right to 
inquire into religion? 

Undoubtedly. Phrenology embraces the 
whole of the innate dispositions. Now as 
there are innate religious feelings, the phren- 
ologist is enabled to examine their essence and 
operations. 

What are the limits of the phrenologist in 
the examination of religious conceptions? 

He is confined to the result of the innate 
religious feelings of man. 

What is the meaning of the word religion? 
This name comes from the Latin, and signi- 
fies a binding together, connexion, or union. 
We particularly understand by it, a belief in 
supernatural beings, and in relations between 
them and ourselves; and further, the practice 
of rendering them worship, in whatever this is 
made to consist — in whatever manner it is be- 
stowed. 

Have men universally had religion of some 
description? 

All nations whatsoever have conceived the 
existence of supernatural powers, have believ- 
ed themselves in relation with these, and have 
adored them, although in very different manners. 
11 



122 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

How may Religions be divided? 

According to the number of supernatural be- 
ings revered, and according to the origin of re- 
ligious ideas. 

What religious systems are included in that 
division which regards the number of divinities? 

1st, Polytheism, — the system of belief in 
many gods; such was the Pagan Religion* 
styled Mythology. 

2d, Bitheism, — the system of belief in twtf 
principles, the one of good, the other of evil, 
named Osiris and Typhon by the Egyptians;" 
Brama and Moisaourby the Indians; Ormuzd 
and Ahrimanes by the Persians; Jehovah and 
Satan by the Jews; God and the Devil by 
some modern nations, &c. 

3d, Monotheism, — the system of belief in 
one Supreme Being, the primary cause of all 
that is, and of all that comes to pass. 

Can we conceive the origin of Polytheism? 

Yes; by keeping in view the nature of the 
faculties possessed by man, and his great igno- 
rance. By his innate dispositions man is in- 
clined to venerate, to fear, to admire, and to 
raise his mind to supernatural conceptions. 



OF RELIGION. 123 

These feelings he at first employed upon nat- 
ural objects, the sun, the moon, the stars, and 
afterwards upon the personified causes of nat- 
ural phenomena, as of thunder, of the wind, of 
the four seasons, of vegetation, &c. In his ig- 
norance, therefore, man followed the blind dic- 
tates of his feelings, and espoused such opin- 
ions as accorded with them. 

Can we also conceive the system of two prin- 
ciples, the one of good, the other of evil? 

Yes; for good and evil, or pleasure and pain, 
exist. Nature universally presents opposites 
to the view, and every individual even feels 
these in his own interior, among his sentiments. 
Now man, who by one faculty seeks for the 
cause of every effect, and by another person- 
ifies every thing even to causes, could not ad- 
mit one and the same cause for both good 
and evil. 

Is Monotheism, or the system of one Su- 
preme Being, more reasonable than Polytheism 
and the belief in two principles? 

Belief in the unity of God is the only notion 
that, agrees with the "supreme law of reason. 
This belief, therefore, spreads abroad among 



124 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

the nations, in proportion as they become en- 
lightened. 

Which of the two, Monotheism or Polythe- 
ism^ was most probably the first religious belief 
among savas-e nations'? 

Polytheism. To arrive at Monotheism, it is 
necessary to reason; but the feelings or affec- 
tive faculties exist in greater activity than the 
powers of analysis and causation in civilized, 
and still more among savage nations. It is con- 
sequently probable, that the religious sentiments 
acted before the intellectual faculties had receiv- 
ed any cultivation, and in their blindness gave 
birth to the absurdities of paganism. This is 
the course in which the people, whose histories 
we know, have advanced, during the different 
epochs of their civilization, and it has proba- 
bly been that of those nations, of whose origin 
or infant existence no account has reached us. 

Is general consent given to the above reply? 

No; Monotheism is commonly believed to 
have degenerated into Polytheism, by reason of 
the symbols under which the Supreme Being 
and his attributes were adored. To God, it 
as said, were attributed the light and vivifying 



OF RELIGION. 125 

power of the sun, the abundance of a fertile 
country >&c— - the presumed qualities of the 
Deity were represented under particular forms 
or likened to natural objects, and ignorance, 
overlooking their emblematic sense, assumed 
the mere Symbols as Divinities. 

How is the preceding reasoning supported? 
Monotheism, it is asserted, reigned in the east 
of Asia, whilst in the western world, —in Egypt, 
Greece, and Italy, the symbols of God having 
been taken for so many divinities, Polytheism 
was the religious belief. 

What is overlooked in this explanation of 
Polytheism? 

The primary dispositions of man, and their 
spontaneous activity. Our ignorance, too, of 
the early history of eastern nations is forgotten. 
It is also extremely improbable that they alone 
should have commenced by Monotheism, all 
the other societies of Europe, of America, and 
the Isles, having followed a different course. 

How have the Monotheists represented God? 

Philosophers have conceived God as a Su- 
preme, Self-existing, and Self-sufficing Being, 
the Author and Preserver of the Universe. 
11* 



126 NATURAL LAWS' OF MAN. 

What is the title of the doctrine which re- 
cognises the existence of a supreme, maintain- 
ing, and great First Cause? 

It is called Deism, as its supporters are styl- 
ed Deists or Theists. Some philosophers, 
however, have considered God as a vivifying 
and moving principle, pervading all things. 
This they have called, Soul of the World. Ac- 
cording to them, the souls of men are portions 
of, or emanations from, the great principle, 
which are never lost, but quitting one body at 
death go immediately to animate another. 

What is the exact meaning of Atheism? 

It signifies the doctrine which denies the 
existence of a God, — Supreme Creator and 
Upholder of the Universe. * 

How may Atheism be accounted for? 

Atheists must necessarily be very rare. 
They can only exist in consequence of some 
deficiency in the conditions, by means of which 
man generally conceives a Supreme Being; in 
the same way as one is blind from birth when 
the apparatus on which vision depends is im- 
p erfect. 

* c The fool saith in his heart, There is no God,' Psalm 
xiv. 1. 



NATURAL RELIGION. 127 

What Religious systems are included in the 
division according to the origin of religious 
ideas? 

1st, Natural Religion, and, 

2d, Revealed Religion. 



II. 

OF NATURAL RELIGION. 

Does man, by his reason, recognise the ex- 
istence of God? 

Man involuntarily seeks for the Workman, 
or Cause of all that is. By reasoning he ar- 
rives at a First Cause, beyond which he can 
conceive nothing; this cause personified is 
God. 

Can man, by his reason, comprehend the 
nature of God? 

No; to know God, it were necessary to be 
his equal at the least; an inferior being can 
never conceive the nature of one infinitely his 
superior. Indeed, man does not know the 
essence of any single natural object, how then 



128 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

can he imagine that of aught which is superna- 
tural? 

Is man naturally inclined to religious ideas? 

There is nothing more certain. He has in- 
nate faculties, whose manifestations depend on 
certain parts of the brain, and which induce 
him to be religious. 

Can religious ideas be indifferent in their 
nature? 

True religion being the will of God, cannot 
be indifferent, and God being all perfection and 
bounty cannot act from mere arbitrariness. 

Is it probable that God in giving a law to 
man, has given him also means to understand it? 

Certainly, since without intellect neither 
the law nor its necessity can be conceived. 

Does natural religion admit of reasoning? 

Its regulation is subjected to reason. Any 
proposition subversive of universal harmony 
among the faculties is at once to be rejected 
as erroneous. 

Is not the reason of man governed by certain 
principles, agreeably to which it must admit or 
deny such and such attributes or qualities in 
God? 



NATURAL RELIGION. 129 

Human reason ought at least to suppose all 
the moral qualities in God, which it exacts of 
a just and reasonable man. 

Can God , agreeably to human reason, be in 
contradiction with himself, improve by experi- 
ence* do aught at one time and repent him of 
having done so at a latter period ! 

No; according to human reason, God is 
perfection and intelligence itself; his will is 
eternal, and his laws are unchangeable. 

Can God be partial ! 

Human reason says he is all equity and all 
justice; it declares every exclusionary idea, 
entertained in connexion with the Parent of the 
Universe, as sacrilegious^ 

Can God be cruel 6 ! 

Good sense shrinks from such a conception 
coupled with the name of the great Author of 
all. God cannot love evil, nor lend it his coun- 
tenance and aid. 

Can God be jealous, envious, and vindic- 
tive 6 ? 

All such expressions are merely expedient, 
and adapted to a hard-hearted race of men. 
Belief in God combined with such ideas, is 



130 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

an abomination in the eyes of a rational and 
mcral being. 

Why has God been so generally represented 
as a being to be feared? 

Because fear is an excellent means of mak- 
ing man act at will. 

Is it probable that the divine laws made for 
man are adapted to his nature? 

It is impossible to think that God, in crea- 
ting man and instituting laws for his govern- 
ment, did not adjust the one to the other. 

God being unchangeable , must, therefore, re- 
ligion not remain unchanged? 

The design and end of religion must remain 
unchanged, but the means tending to that end 
must vary according to the different degree of 
civilization of nations and individuals who re- 
ceive religious instruction. 

What can be the end of true religion? 

The glory of God and the good of man. 

Can divine laws be less reasonable than civil 
laics? 

This is impossible, because human wisdom v 
coming from God, cannot surpass that of his 
all wise Creator and perfect law-giver. 



NATURAL RELIGION. 131 

Which are the powers of man that are prop- 
per to judge of true religious notions'? 

Religion is a prerogative of man, hence all 
religious notions should be in conformity with 
the human faculties strictly speaking and free 
from every influence of animal feelings. 

Is every one capable of deciding about reli- 
gious truth? 

No more than every person is able to judge 
t)f arts and sciences. The great bulk of man- 
kind is only fit to learn; happy, therefore, the 
flock, under the shepherd who attends to their 
welfare. 

Are there some signs indicative of truth in 
religion? 

Since true religion tends to the glory of God 
and the good of man, divine doctrines • are har- 
monious, reasonable, and have a powerful in- 
fluence to improve man's life and moral char- 
acter, whilst all contradictions, absurdities and 
doctrines that tend to promote vice, cannot 
come from above. 

Is it reasonable to conceive God, trying men 
and their obedience by commanding insignifi- 
cant and unmeaning observances, useless both 
to himself and to his creatures? 



132 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Such a thought is altogether unworthy of the 
true God. The idea of God's spreading toils 
for man is incompatible with his divine justice. 
A reasonable master commands no more than 
the necessary, the profitable and the just to 
his servants. And if God be prescient, as 
reason proclaims, he cannot require to put 
mankind to the proof. It is time to cease from 
representing God as a mere human being; or 
if this be indeed impossible, let us suppose the 
Supreme Author of the universe at least en- 
dowed with such qualities as are exacted from 
tolerably perfect humanity — Benevolence, Jus- 
tice, Reason. The will of God implicates re- 
alities and things indispensable; instead there- 
fore of attributing to the Creator childish fantas- 
ies and modes of acting to which worse names 
might with justice be applied, let us accom- 
plish his natural laws, fulfil the duties that prof- 
it ourselves and all mankind, and thus, if by 
aught we may render ourselves agreeable to 
the great Author of our being. 

Is the belief which men have in God's attri- 
butes, of great importance^ 

Of the greatest; since men like to imitate 
the example of their maker. 



NATURAL RELIGION.- 133 

Is outward worship conceivable in Natural 
Religion? 

In recognising supernatural agents, or one 
Supreme Being, and their influence on his es- 
tate, man was naturally led to render them ho- 
mage, and to demand their protection. Far- 
ther, in endowing the objects of his worship 
with human qualities, often with human weak- 
nesses , and even with human vices,man has treat- 
ed them humanly ; he has assigned them abodes, 
especially in elevated situations, he has erect- 
ed altars to their service, and brought them 
propitiatory offerings of various kinds, he has 
sung them laudatory hymns, played on musical 
instruments, and burnt perfumes for their grati- 
fication, &c. Sec. Man has always anthro- 
pomorphised the divinity he adored. 

Was it also natural for man to imagine 
agents intermediate between him and his Crea- 
tor? 

Yes; in representing God as endowed with 
human faculties, men have deemed him acces- 
sible to all their wants, as well as alive to all 
their pleasures and appetites. They conse- 
quently supposed that the Supreme Being, 
12 



134 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

like an earthly potentate, held a court, and had 
a ministry or administration to which he confid- 
ed part of his affairs, that he had favorites to 
whom his ear was more open than to them- 
selves, and so on, after the manner of things 
below. 

In Natural Religion what is the worship 
which reason approves*) 

Reason says that God, being all perfection 
in himself, can neither gain nor lose in beati- 
tude by means of the terrestrial creation. Rea- 
son say's further, that God must be a spirit, not 
shut up in any one place, but that the earth — 
the universe — is his tabernacle. Moreover, 
reason says that God created men for their 
own happiness, and that having established the 
laws necessary to secure this end, they are the 
true bond of union between God and man. 
Knowledge of the natural laws, therefore, and un- 
reserved submission to their dictates, compose 
the natural worship which man owes and must 
render to make himself agreeable to the Deity. 

Is there any difference between Natural Re- 
ligion and Natural Morality 1 ? 

None whatever. All the relation which man , 



REVEALED RELIGION. 135 

during the term of this life, has with God or his 
Creator, consists in respect and obedience to 
His laws. 



III. 

OF REVEALED RELIGION. 

Man is by his nature carried to religious 
ideas; but there is another source which invites 
to such conceptions, is there not? 

Yes, it is Revelation. 

Is this source fertile in results'? 

Yes; by far the greater number of religious 
systems have been received as revelations. 
The divinities of the ancients, and the Deity, 
by whatever title designated, of the moderns, 
are reputed to have manifested their Will, 
whether directly or indirectly, to man. Judg- 
es in Israel, Druids among the Celts, Incas 
among the Peruvians, — in a word, a priesthood 
have always been the interpreters of the celes- 
tial decrees. This body commonly received 
the instructions of heaven secretly, or in sym- 



136 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN, 

bolic language, and appropriating to itself the 
right of interpreting them, it has ever taught 
dogmatically, arrogated infallibility to its tribu- 
nal, and anathematized whoever dared to con- 
tiadict, to question, or to doubt. 

Is reason opposed to the belief in Revelation? 
No; Reason is obliged to admit a Creator, 
and cannot limit his almighty power. 

Do all the systems of religion received as re- 
vealed, and which admit one only God, inva- 
riably represent him in the same way? 

No; some of them attribute physical quali- 
ties to the Supreme Being; the Mahometans, 
for instance, conceive him to be round, im- 
mense, and cold; the Indian Gentiles, imagine 
him as an oval; others picture him as an old 
man with a white beard and a venerable aspect, 
&c. Those systems of Religion which accord 
most with reason, speak of God as an incor- 
poreal Being — a Spirit. 

And do alVthe religions that recognise God 
us a Spirit, conceive him endowed with similar 
.attributes? 

Far from it; by one he is represented as par- 



REVEALED RELIGION. 137 

tial, exclusive, jealous, vindictive, cruel, a 
God of armies and battles, delighting in the 
blood of victims and of enemies; by another he 
is pictured as full of goodness, beneficence, 
clemency, and mercy, a God of peace and of 
love, rejoicing in the felicity of all. — Men com- 
monly attribute to the Supreme Being their 
own manners of thinking and of feeling their 
animal and human nature; — this is even appa- 
rent in the interpretations of the several grand 
systems of religion, i. e. in the formation of 
sects The controversies of theologians on 
God and his nature, on his communication 
with man, and on the mode in which he rules 
the universe, are very voluminous, and there 
are innumerable schools of religion, each of 
which assigns grounds, more or less plausible, 
for its dissent from the others; in general, how- 
ever, they are evidently entangled in a laby- 
rinth of contradiction and inconsequence. 

Are there not some general points of resem- 
blance between all systems of religion? 

There are. 1st, In each the articles of be- 
lief are propounded as the commands of heav- 
en. 

12* 



138 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

2d, The articles of faith are essentially the 
same, but variously modified according to the 
genius of each; they relate to a beginning, or 
creation of the world, to one or more regu- 
lating causes of occurring phenomena, to a 
primary state of perfection of man as created 
by a good principle, to his degeneration, or 
fall through disobedience, to a cause of his se- 
duction, to his disgrace and punishment, to 
the possibility of his repurification and restor- 
ation to divine favor, and lastly, to his future 
state. 

3d, They who made known the articles of a 
revelation, have uniformly attested their mis- 
sion by .the working of miracles; these are the 
testimonials of prophets. 

4th, The language used in all is figurative, 
or symbolical. 

5th, Almost all are intolerant and mutually 
exclusive; a circumstance which arises from 
the innate feelings of self-esteem and firmness 
in man and from its being evident that as there 
is only one God, only one religion can pos- 
sibly be true. 

Whence does this sameness arise? 



REVEALED RELIGION. 139 

It may be accounted for by the sameness 
of the innate powers and by inferring a primi- 
tive revelation of the divine will, adapted to 
the innate faculties of man, which being essen- 
tially the same, necessarily require and deter- 
mine similar modes of satisfaction. All nations 
have music according to the same laws, and 
dances in accordance with their music; pride 
is everywhere greedy of command, and vani- 
ty of display. The same invariable law applies 
to religious sentiments in combination with the 
other primary powers of the mind. 

When we see that the several faculties which 
dispose men to be religious are innate, does not 
revelation become superfluous'? 

By no means. All the natural inclinations 
have gone astray, and have a continual tenden- 
cy to err in their application, and revelation, 
in giving them a good positive direction, may 
be eminently salutary. 

Are all the religious systems,which are con" 
sidered as revealed, and believed at the same 
time, true ! 

This is impossible. As there is but one God, 
there can be but one supreme will, and one 
true religion. 



140 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Has the phrenologist a right or is it incum~ 
bent upon him to decide about the truth of any 
religous belief? 

Neither the one, nor the other. His knowl- 
edge is confined to the result of the innate dis- 
positions, but the certainty of revelation depends 
on proofs of another nature beyond the reach 
of phrenology". 

How are the religions, regarded by their dis- 
ciples as revealed, commonly supported 1 ? 

It is customary to repose on the veracity of 
the prophets who report the revelation, and 
they themselves are required to work miracles 
in order to attest their mission. 

What is a miracle? 

A miracle is a suspension or counteraction 
of the established laws of nature. It, therefore, 
implies the power of God, — the ability to cre- 
ate, and to interrupt or suspend the current of 
things, to annihilate, to diminish,and to augment 
matter, to still the waves of the sea, to hush 
the winds, to cure distempers by words, and 
so on. 

Can the title 'absurd' ever be well applied 
in connexion with miracles? 



REVEALED RELIGION. 141 

No; for whatever man pretends to effect in 
contradiction to the laws of creation is decep- 
tion. Thus it is impossible to put the moon 
into the sleeve of a coat, as Mahomet boasted 
he had done. 

Why have revelations always been made in 
symbolic and mysterious language? 

The majority of mankind are fond of the 
.marvellous, and in addressing them through its 
medium, a hearing is surely and readily obtain- 
ed. The most palpable absurdities, the gross- 
vest superstitions, are admitted by the ignorant, 
provided they be but proposed as supernatural, 
and be deeply tinged with the marvellous. 
Enlightened men, too, who formed just and rea- 
sonable ideas of the Supreme Being, of his at- 
tributes, and of man's relations with him, have 
generally been obliged to conform in public to 
the prevalent state-system of religion, and they 
therefore invented a language of symbols, by 
means of which they maintained their private 
opinions, entrusting the initiated only with the 
key to its interpretation. Besides, the oriental 
tongues abound in metaphors, comparisons, 
.and figurative expressions, which translated lit- 



142 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

erally into modern languages, lose entirely 
their primary significations. 

What is the conclusion to be drawn from the 
foregoing reply? 

That we are not to rest satisfied with mere 
literal interpretations of religious language, but 
that we must search for its spirit. The apos- 
tle said long ago, 'the letter kills, but the spir- 
it vivifies.' 

Can a truly divine revelation interdict the 
use of reason? 

Reason is the noble gift by which the Cre- 
ator has distinguished man from all other ani- 
mated things. Now it would be a most unrea- 
sonable act, first to endow 7 a being with any fac- 
ulty, and then to prohibit its use. Such a pro- 
cedure would be, if possible, more absurd in 
reference to the most distinguished and enno- 
bling of all the powers of the mind. Moreover;, 
God, w r ho is all wisdom and all reason, could 
never create man in his own likeness, as it is 
said he did, and then forbid the employment 
of the very faculties which must form a princi- 
pal feature in the resemblance. 
Can God contradict himself? 



REVEALED RELIGION. 143 

This is impossible, his will being perfection 
of virtue and his sense of right and consistency 
being the strongest. God therefore cannot 
contradict in revelation what he teaches in his 
works, nor can he contradict in one part of 
scripture what he teaches at another. 

What inference may de drawn from the pre- 
ceding answer? 

Known truth derived from observation aad 
experience must restrain and modify the scrip- 
tural language, and every interpretation must 
be given up which contradicts any physical 
truth, particularly since the scriptural language 
is singularly figurative and no where affects the 
precision of science or the accuracy of defini- 
tion. 

Is belief the best means of proving the truth 
of a revealed system of religion? 

It is certain that all religions whatsoever are 
propped upon belief. It is equally certain 
that belief depends on feelings rather than on 
intellect and that men are very ready to be- 
lieve when their tastes are flattered, when 
they are met by promises that are agreeable to 
their desires. — There are nearly as many Ma- 



144 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

hometans as Christians in the world, and all 
good Mussulmen believe firmly, that their 
prophet put the moon into the sleeve of his 
coat. From this it is evident, that simple be- 
lief cannot demonstrate the truth of any, how- 
ever generally accredited, system of religion. 

Besides belief, is there any other mode of de- 
monstrating the truth of a revelation? 

Yes; there are proofs founded on the nature 
of the revealed doctrine itself, and that are ap- 
proved by reason. Thus,the precepts that come 
from God must necessarily harmonize, they 
must be adapted to human nature, and they 
must produce salutary effects. It is impossi- 
ble to suppose that God gives mankind laws 
whose tendency is injurious to them. 

Can true religion exclude morality? 

This seems impossible to those who have 
arrived at refined notions of an all perfect Be- 
ing, and who place their most acceptable wor- 
ship in actions producing every one's own 
happiness in harmony with that of his neigh- 
bor. They find religion unprofitable, nay of- 
ten hurtful, if it be confined to mere belief in 
the divine appointment of prophets; in mere 



REVEALED RELIGION. 145 

miraculous actions of the Almighty, or in idle, 
useless, ridiculous or even mischievous ob- 
servances, whilst the exe: i us of the higher 
sentiments of man are passed over as indiffer- 
ent. 

Can they be received as true prophets, who 
speak according to the circumstances of the 
times in ichich they appear? 

No; the spirit of God is eternally the same. 
Reason, therefore, unmasks Mahomet, who 
accommodated the revelations of the angel 
Gabriel to the nature of his designs, and even 
rescinded preceding communications entirely, 
if his views required the measure. 

Is it reasonable to doubt in religious mat- 
ters? and if so, why? 

Yes, it is; because many assent to what ma- 
ny deny; and because there have been many 
prophesying cheats, and much prophetic de- 
ception inflicted on the world. Caution is es- 
pecially necessary when the temporal interest 
of the deceivers is joined with the spiritual in- 
terest of the deceived. 

May false prophets and their errors be more 
readily and certainly detected by the nature of 



146 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

the doctrine they teach, or by the belief they re- 
ceive? 

The nature and doctrine, and the fruits it 
produces, afford the surest test of its truth. 

Why do the priesthood so commonly oppose 
the use of reason? 

The priesthood have exacted blind belief, 
because this, whilst it prevents discussion, 
renders their calling more imposing, 'and more 
easy; it further secures them from accusation, 
and cloaks their errors and selfish views. 

What advantage is there in proposing laics 
to men as divine revelations? 

It disposes them powerfully to obedience. 

What peculiar condition of mankind is the 
most favorable to belief in general? 

The state of ignorance which is always cre- 
dulous. They, therefore, who would lead the 
nations blindfolded, have reason at least on 
their side, in opposing the cultivation of the 
understanding. 

Is it a matter of difficulty to discover and to 
understand truth? 

The question is rarely of either discrimina- 
ting or of understanding; the mass of mankind 



REVEALED RELIGION. 147 

admit what they like, and what they consider 
as favorable to their interests, whether tempo- 
ral or eternal. When the time comes that 
mankind shall desire to understand and to prac- 
tise what is reasonable and just, truth will tri- 
umph over error. 

Is belief necessary in any ioise9 

Yes; but if religious doctrines be imposed as 
obligatory, the articles of belief should be reas- 
onable and just, in order that he who is capable 
of reflecting, may perceive them as true, and 
their practice as tending to establish the general 
happiness. 

Is a religious doctrine true because of its 
promising great rewards'? 

To promise largely is an efficient means of 
ensuring its adoption, but this does not in any 
way prove its truth. It ought to be reasonable 
and advantageous at the same time; that is to 
say, it should satisfy both the affective and the 
intellectual faculties of man. 

Is instruction dangerous to morality*? 

Experience proves most amply that it is 
not. The history of nations, of tribes, and of 
classes in the different societies of men, pre- 
sents the greatest number of crimes and of im- 



148 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

moral actions generally, during the reign of 
ignorance, and of superstition its attendant. 
Crimes diminish not only in frequency, but in 
atrocity, in proportion as the mind receives 
cultivation, as arts and sciences are encouraged, 
and as good manners and gentle bearing are 
esteemed and rewarded. Men must positive- 
ly be taught whatever it is deemed of impor- 
tance that they should know. The only ques- 
tion therefore is, whether it be more advan- 
tageous to instruct them in superstition and er- 
ror, or in reasonable religion and salutary 
truths. 

Have religious dotrines done harm to man- 
kind? 

Much, both physically and morally; some- 
times by their commands, but principally by 
their intolerance. 

How can a religious system work physical 
evil? 

By its provisions as to the nourishment of the 
body and the propagation of the species, and 
by countenancing any species of persecution, 
such as the rack, dungeon, stake, &c. &cj 

What is the revealed religion which surpass- 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 149 

es all others in every kinl of perfection , and 
that stands the scrutiny of reason? 
It is Pure Christianity. 



IV. 



OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Phrenology being true, can it he in opposi- 
tion to pure Christianity? 

This is impossible, as no truth either physi- 
cal or moral can be in opposition to any other. 
Christianity and Phrenology, when well un- 
terstood, will give mutual assistance to each 
odher. 

Is the phrenologist entitled to speak of Chris- 
tianity, and if so, how far? 

The phrenologist has the right to examine 
whether Christianity is adapted to the innate 
dispositions of man, and he is delightedin see- 
ing it in perfect harmony with the human na- 
ture. But he is confined to the examen of 
the christian doctrine in itself and its superior- 
13* 



150 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

ity without being able to decide about the na- 
ture of the Revealer; he can speak only from 
actual observations and inductions. 

Does the Christian Religion permit reason- 
ing ? 

Jesus himself said, 'Those who have ears 
let them hear/ he declared that light is not 
made to be hidden, but to enlighten; and he 
reproached his own disciples for being without 
understanding. (Matt, xv.) Paul also says, 
c I speak as to wise men, judge ye what I 
say.' (1 Cor. x. 15.) And again, 'Prove all 
things, hold fast that which is good. ' (1 Thess. 
v. 21.) ' Beloved,' says John, 'believe not 
every spirit, but try the spirits whether they 
are of God.' (1 John. iv. 1.) 

Does not Christianity recur to reasoning in 
order to demonstrate the existence of God? 

It does. For ' every house,' says Paul to 
the Hebrews, chap. iii. ver. 4, 'has been 
builded by some man, but he that built all 
things is God.' 

In what manner, according to Christianity, 
does God make himself manifest? 

The invisible perfections of God, his eter- 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 151 

rial power and his divinity, appear in the works 
of creation. (Rom. i. 20.) 

What are the chief attributes of God, as de- 
fined by Christianity? 

God is a spirit. (John iv. 24.) He is love. 
(1 John iv. 16.) He is just and impartial, and 
regards not appearances nor persons. (Rom. 
ii. 11.) He rewards each according to his 
works. (Rom. ii.); desires only good, and 
wills only the happiness of his creatures. 
(New Testament, passim,) 

How may the doctrine of Christianity be di- 
vided? 

Into two principal parts, the one marvellous, 
the other moral. 

In what does the marvellous part of Christian- 
ity consist? 

It includes whatever is incomprehensible, 
whatever is beyond the limits of observa- 
tion; — such as the nature of God, the creation 
of the world by his will, his influence upon 
his creatures, his communication with men 
the birth and miraculous actions of Jesus, the 
immortality of the soul, and the rewards and 
punishments in the life to come. 

This part of Christianity requires belief? 



152 NATURAL LAWS OP MAN. 

It depends entirely upon belief; for the points 
of which it is composed cannot be submitted 
to present observation. 

Hoxo does belief in these incomprehensible 
matters become efficacious and profitable*! 

When it induces the believer to practise the 
Christian virtues. It is necessary, says Paul, 
to have 'faith which worketh by love.' (Gal. 
v. 6.) 'Faith,' says James, 4 if it have not 
works, is dead in itself.' (James ii. 16, 26.) 
Christianity calls us to be perfect as our Father 
in heaven is perfect. 

Have all Christian societies agreed upon the 
marvellous part of their doctrine? 

No; this part has produced continual dissen- 
sions among Christian, and so long as any in- 
dividual shall dare to think and to interpret for 
himself, these must continue. It is this part 
of Christianity also which has often been the 
cause and always served as the pretext, for in- 
tolerance, and persecution on account of opin- 
ions. 

What is to be concluded from this? 
That every man should be allowed to follow 
the dictates of his own conscience, and to be- 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 153 

lieve whatever he conceives is true, provided 
the public tranquillity be not disturbed,and the 
moral part of Christianity do not suffer. 
Is this conclusion reasonable? 
Is it in complete harmony with reason, and in 
conformity with the moral injunctions ofChris- 
tianity,\vhich command the preaching of the 
truth, but strictly prohibit all persecution. 'Go 
ye,' said Jesus to his disciples, 'into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear 
your words, when ye depart out of that house 
or city, shake off the dust of your feet.' — The 
induction is the more reasonable, too, in as 
much as the Christian doctrine assures us that 
every one, at the final judgment, will have to 
render an account of his talents and of his 

deeds. 

In ivhat does Christian morality consist? 

The whole of it is reducible to two grand 
commandments, viz. Love God with your 
whole soul,' and, ' Love your neighbor as your ■- 
self. 9 (Matt. xxii. 37. 39.) 

What is understood by the'Love of God? 9 
'This is Love of God, that we keep his 
commandments. ' (1 John v. 3,) 



154 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

Can we , humanly speaking, Hove God,' such 
as he is represented in the gospel? 

Every rational and noble mind must love a 
God of peace, of goodness, of clemency, and 
of justice; a God who has compassion on 
our weaknesses, and who makes the sun to 
shine, and the rain to descend, even on those 
who obey not his will; a God who gives the 
breaker of his law time for repentance; who 
desires universal happiness; who gives the 
same laws to the whole human kind indiffer- 
ently; and who will mercifully judge each by 
his works, without respect of persons. 

Is the observance of certain symbolic forms 
sufficient to constitute a Christian? 

Far from it; though many, indeed, think it 
is. Forms are not the end of Christianity, 
they are mere means of engendering and nour- 
ishing a Christian spirit. 

The Christian morality in commanding 
love to God, implies in this entire submission 
to the will of the Creator, does it not? 

Conviction of the extent and importance of 
this commandment is of prime necessity. 
That the will of the Father — God, is to be 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 155 

done on earth as it is done in heaven, is an 
injunction clearly set forth. The propriety of 
distinguishing between the laws of God and 
the enactments of men, is thus proclaimed. 
Jesus also said, that he could do nothing which 
he had not seen done by his Father, and he 
declared that only they who did the will of God 
were his brothers, sisters, or mother. 

Does the toill of God comprise the laws of 
creation, that is to say, the natural laics'? 

Undoubtedly; because God and the Creator 
are one. Man indeed can create nothing; en- 
dowed with understanding to observe phenom- 
ena, and the conditions under which they oc- 
cur, he can, however, imitate in some degree, 
that which the Creator shows him; in other 
words, he can prepare the conditions neces- 
sary to elicit determinate effects; but he is 
still dependent on the laws of the Creator for 
the success of his undertakings. Jesus said, 
c My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent 
me.' (John vii.) 

Is there a difference between the belief in the 
natural laics and that of Christianity^ 

Those who merely believe in the fixed or- 



156 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

der of nature admit in the Creator a regard to 
general good rather than an affection to indi- 
viduals. They find the natural laws operating 
with an inflexible tardiness and never varying 
to meet the wants of individuals, whilst Chris- 
tianity represents God as a Father endowed 
with parental tenderness towards his offspring, 
and pardoning the sinner. Further, the belief 
in the Ordinary Course of Providence does 
not clearly conceive the reality of a future ex- 
istence, whilst Christianity promises and as- 
sures us of our immortality. Indeed, if man is 
to live again, he is not to live through any 
known laws of nature, but by a power higher 
than nature. 

Having seen in an early part of this book,* 
that there are three kinds of natural laws, viz. 
vegetative, intellectual, and moral laws, which 
of these is the most important in the view of 
Christianity? 

The knowledge and practice of the moral 

laws. Jesus says, that his followers are to 

shine before men, by the light of their good 

works. (Matt, v.) He placed morality so 

♦See page 16. 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 157 

far above everything else, that some have im- 
agined his aim to have been the annihilation 
of the physical and intellectual laws of man. 

What is the decision of good sense in this 
particular ? 

It recognises the moral laws as superior to 
the others; assigns them the direction of all 
our actions; introduces harmony among the 
functions that respectively constitute the mor- 
al, the intellectual, and the vegetative laws of 
man, and it declares that nothing which God 
has created is ever to be neglected, much less 
to be annihilated. 

Is belief, or avowal of belief in the mission of 
Jesus, sufficient to constitute a Christian? 

To be a Christian, it is not enough to rec- 
ognise Jesus as the Son of God, the Redeem- 
er of Man and the interpreter of the will of 
his heavenly Father, or even to be con- 
versant with his commandments, it is indis- 
pensably necessary to act upon the precepts he 
taught. 'He that hath my commandments, 
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.' 
(John xiv.) 'Not every one who sayeth into 
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom 
14 



158 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

ofheaven,but he that doeth the will of my Fath- 
er.' (Matt, vii.) c If ye keep my command- 
ments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have 
kept my Father's commandments, and abide in 
his love.' (John xv.) These are the Master's 
own words. Paul, too, says, 'The kingdom 
of God is not in word but in power,' i. e. deed. 
(1 Cor. iv.) 

What is the law ivhich, although included 
under the general title. Love God, Jesus re- 
commended in a particular manner? 

It is the law of neighborly love : Thoushalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself, — do unto others 
as ye would that they did unto you, and do not 
to others the things ye would not that they 
did to you. 

Is the law of neighborly love of very exten- 
sive application? 

It is the universal rule of conduct in all the 
relations of man with his fellow-men. They 
who practise it will never offend nor injure any 
one; they will exert their utmost ability to re- 
scind arbitrary and unjust enactments, to 
crush tyranny, and to abolish slavery of every 
description; they will not live at the expense 
of others; they will be meek, indulgent, benev- 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 159 

olent, just and faithful; they will never swerve 
from the path of peace, nor ever lose sight 
of general happiness as the end of their being. 

And to be a Christian is it necessary to prac- 
tise thislatv? 

It is an indispensable condition to be so con- 
sidered. To say otherwise would either be to 
deceive ourselves, or to be guilty of hypocrisy. 
The law is clearly expressed. Jesus frequent- 
ly admonished his disciples to distinguish 
themselves by their love of each other. 

Is it easy or difficult to accomplish the laio 
of neighborly love°l 

Jesus announced the law as the will of his 
heavenly Parent, and he exacts its fulfilment, 
even though it require the aid of resolution; 
^because, 5 says he, 'no man putting his hand 
to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the 
kingdom of God. 5 (Luke ix.) And he adds, 
'When we have accomplished all that is com- 
manded, we have done no more than our duty. 5 
He has, however, avowed, that it is extreme- 
ly difficult to enter into the kingdom of heaven, 
and that there is no perfectly just man in the 
world. The brethren of Jesus did not believe 
in him. (John vii. 5.) 



160 NATURAL LAWS OF M4N- 

Is it equally difficult for all men to be Chri$~ 
tians? 

It is more easy for the poor than for the 
rich to love their neighbors as themselves. It 
was especially to the poor that Christ brought 
the good tidings. He has positively declared 
that it is extremely difficult for a rich man to 
enter the kingdom of God. (Matt. xix. 23.) 

Can toe, in the enjoyment of privileges, 
lave our neighbor as ourselves? 

Good sense replies in the negative. 

Are Christians authorised by their doctrine 
to take or reclaim by force that which others 
enjoy, in opposition to the law of neighborly 
love? 

By no means; they are forbidden to do evil 
to any one, or to use violence in any way. They 
form a class apart, and never serve as instru- 
ments in oppressive or exclusionary schemes; 
among them, there is neither master, nor servant,, 
nor slave; they know but two grades or ranks 
in their community, — accomplished Christians, 
and disciples, and the accomplished disciple 
attains the same footing as his teacher; (Luke 
vi.) they recognise each of their members as 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 161 

possessed of particular gifts, but these all em- 
ploy agreeably to the law of neighborly love; 
each is only answerable for the talents entrus- 
ted to his care; and, taking advantage of them 
in this spirit, all have, as all only require, the 
^ame recompense. 'Christians,' says Paul to 
the Romans, 'form a body and many members; 
they have different gifts, but each employs 
that he possesses in union and in 6harity.' 

Is the formation of a Christian society pos- 
sible? 

Not among men as they are at present consti- 
tuted. The law of neighborly love is sublime, 
and will remain true to eternity; but it is not 
as yet given to man to adhere to its injunc- 
tions. To do this, the knowledge and prac- 
tice of the universal law of Christianity, Do 
the will of God, in all its details, is indispen- 
sable; above all, the laws of hereditary descent 
must be enforced, in order to prepare mankind 
for the reception of the Christian doctrine in 
its purity. Without this course, the Holy 
Spirit will never remain among mankind. 

Christianity, in promising everlasting life 
beyond the grave, does not render temporal 
14* 



162 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

happiness incompatible ivith the prospect of such 
bliss, does it? 

To say yes, would be equivalent to saying, 
that it is necessary to fall sick in order to live 
well. True, in the actual state of things, the 
majority of mankind find the task of adherence 
to the natural laws extremely painful; but this 
does not prove that the Creator has willed it 
so, or resolved its endurance forever. Chris- 
tianity in directing the actions of the innate 
powers cannot intend to abolish them, and 
each power when satisfied procures pleas- 
ure and some are given only for the sake of 
temporal happiness. 

In what does the worship prescribed by Chris- 
tianity principally consist? 

It is reasonable and spiritual, not consisting 
in what is eaten or drunk, nor in distinctions 
made between days; (Rom. xiv.) it is a wor- 
ship which regards the sabbath as made for 
man, not man for the sabbath; c for the Son 
of man is Lord also of the sabbath;' (Mark ii. 
27.) a worship, according to which the time 
will come — the time is even now come — 
when true adorers shall worship God in spirit 



CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 163 

and in truth; (John iv.) a worship, in fine, 
which teaches that God is not served by men's 
hands, as if He had need of aught, — He who 
gives life and sweet consciousness of being to 
all, and sheds joy and harmony over his crea- 
tion. (Acts xvii.) The worship, in a word, 
which the true Christian pays to God, con- 
sists in learning and practising his laws in gen- 
eral, and in observing his ordinance of neigh- 
borly love in particular. 

Do the religious and moral precepts of the * 
New Testament surpass those of the Old, in 
perfection and excellence? 

Whoever will compare the qualities attribu- 
ted to the Supreme Being, regard the spirit 
of the laws contained, and observe the means 
proposed for teaching these, in each, must 
inevitably recognise the infinite superiority of 
the doctrines of Christianity. 

What is the principal duty of the teachers 
of religion and morality? 

To know the universal law of Christianity; 
to study its particular laws, to spread abroad 
a knowledge of them, and to show their advan- 
tages to individuals, to existing communities, 



164 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

and to posterity; lastly, to attest their own be- 
lief, by practising its ordinances. They are 
to c feed the flock of God which is among 
them, taking the oversight thereof, not by 
constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, 
but of a ready mind; neither as being lords 
over God's heritage, but being ensamples to 
his flock.' (1 Pet. v.) Jesus said pointedly 
that his disciples were to be known, and true 
prophets distinguished from false, by their 
fruits. c Beware of false prophets, ye shall 
know them by their fruits. Do men gather 
grapes of thorns or figs from thistles?' (Matt, 
vii.) 

What idea do true Christians entertain of 
Prayer? 

When they pray they retire into their closet, 
and when they have shut the door, they pray, 
above all, that the will of their heavenly Fath- 
er may be done on earth. (Matt, v.) They 
'use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, 
who think they shall be heard for their much 
speaking.' They are assured that God knows 
all they require before they present their pe- 
tition. (Matt, vi.) True Christians do not 



NATURAL RELIGION. 165 

suppose that they can please the Almighty by 
any kind of ceremony, by the burning of in- 
cense, or otherwise. They admire the Cre- 
ator in contemplating his works, in meditating 
on the laws which reign throughout the uni- 
verse; the further they advance in knowledge, 
the more do they overflow with reverence and 
gratitude; examine all their actions, whether or 
not they be in conformity with morality; they 
strive to make amends when they have sinned, 
and they admit in principle that God listens 
to them in proportion only as they fulfill his 
laws, in little as well as in great things. 

By what visible signs are true Christians , 
or the disciples of natural morality, distin- 
guished from the rest of mankind? 

By their works; by their submission to the 
laws of the Creator in general, and by their 
practice of the moral laws in particular. c Ye 
are my friends, said Jesus, if ye do whatever 
;I command you, (John, xv.) It is in this that 
ye will be known to be my disciples, if ye 
liave love one for another.' 



166 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN* 

V. 

OF CHURCH RELIGION. 

What is the meaning of the word church7 

1st. It designates a general society of in- 
dividuals professing the same religious princi- 
ples. 

2d. It also implies any special congregation 
making part of the general society. Churches 
are then named from the places at which they 
exist; as for instance, the church of Corinth, 
the church of Antioch, of Ephesus, &c. 

3d. It is used to designate the government 
of religious matters. 

4th. It signifies the building in which the mem- 
bers of the society or congregation assemble, 
whether to improve in knowledge of their reli- 
gious principles, to address prayers to God, to 
sing hymns to his praise, to return thanks for 
benefits conferred, generally or particularly, on 
the members, or to offer adoration in any way 
whatever. 

How is the general Christian church entitled? 

It is called Catholic. 



CHURCH RELIGION. 167 

Are there more catholic churches than one*) 

Several have at least taken the title. They 
are distinguished from each other by adding* 
the name of the country or town where they 
severally commenced, or flourish. Thus there 
is a Roman catholic church, a Greek catholic 
church, an Anglican catholic church, and so 
on. 

Can the special societies of the general or 
catholic churches follow principles differing 
respectively 6 } 

It is evident that congregations admitting 
different principles, do not constitute parts of 
one catholic church. 

Can several churches be catholic in one re- 
spect and divided in others? 

Yes; all which believe in the mission of Je- 
sus and in his miracles, are members of one 
catholic church, in as far as these points 
are concerned; but they may be divided into 
many churches in regard to the precepts ad- 
mitted as Christian ordinances. 

Does the society that changes its religious 
principles*, belong to the catholic church, of 
which it was a part? 



16& NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

No; it forms a new church. 

Ought there to be superiors in any church*? 

Yes; it is well to have persons especially 
appointed to teach and to watch over the ac- 
complishment of the principles they admit re- 
spectively. 

Is any man justified in commanding in the 
name of God? 

The power of God is absolute, but if man 
arrogate such authority, disorder is inevitable^ 
The ministers of religion ought to be respon- 
sible to the community for every one of their 
religious interpretations in the same way as 
the ministers of civil governments are answer- 
able for their measures. 

Can any reliance be placed on the word of 
him whose actions are at variance loith his pre- 
cepts? 

No; more especially if the tendency of his 
teaching be favorable to himself. Jesus said: 
Hf I do not the icorks of my Father, believe me 
not.' (John x. 37.) 

What is the common tendency of every es- 
tablished church? 



CHURCH RELIGION. 169 

The priesthood of every State-religion try- 
to keep religious notions stationary and to main- 
tain the uniformity of discipline. 

Is it possible to keep moral and religious no- 
tions stationary? 

It may be done by Theocratical governments 
for a shorter or longer period, but it is im- 
possible where civil and religious governments 
constitute two separate powers. The prog- 
ress will be slow in proportion as both sorts 
of governors remain united; but views which 
are adapted and even necessary to ignorant 
generations cannot satisfy enlightened minds, 
and must successively improve as well as arts, 
sciences and civil legislation. The technical, 
obscure and gloomy theology which has 
come down from times of ignorance, super- 
stition and slavery must yield to a system which 
is practical, clear and calculated to unfold the 
highest powers of our understanding and our 
Moral Sentiments. 

Is Protestantism compatible with the unifor- 
mity of any religious doctrines? 

No: Protestantism is founded on the right of 
reasoning, and wherever this is allowed, the 



170 NATURAL LAWS OF MAN. 

uniformity of doctrine cannot last, since the 
power of reasoning differs in degree in differ- 
ent persons. 

Is it wise in the priesthood of established 
churches to remain stationary whilst the nations 
improve in civilization'? 

If the Sacerdocy do not keep path in arts and 
sciences with the community at large, their in- 
fluence must diminish by degrees and finally 
cease altogether. 

Since a variety of religions sects is unavoid- 
ble wherever the free use of reason is allowed ^ 
what should be their common tendency ) 

Each sect should endeavor to establish har- 
mony in all branches of knowledge, physical, 
intellectual, religious and moral. 

Is it possible for any chureh to become uni- 
versal and permanent? 

Yes; that church will become universal and 
lasting whose religious principles shall be 
founded on a knowledge of the true nature of 
man, which shall establish harmony among all 
the primary faculties of the mind, and which 
shall elevate religion to the rank of a science. 
Every religious idea that contravenes reason 
can only endure for a time. 



CHURCH RELIGION. 171 

What then should form the ground-work, 
nndtvhat the aim of that general religious ref- 
ormation^ whose necessity for the well being of 
man is so evident? 

With reason and belief in harmony, know- 
ledge and morality must be its foundation, and 
the universal happiness its aim. In other 
words, Christian morality ought to be taught 
in its purity, and become the essence of .reli- 
gious belief. The practice of the moral law 
should be a necessary obligation on every 
member of society; whether induced by rea- 
son or by faith, by love or by fear, all should 
be bound to conform to its precepts. No 
mystical conception, however, ought on any 
account to be arbitrarily imposed. Every 
one should be left free to reject or to adopt, 
according to conscience, any opinion which is 
not at variance with the true spirit of Chris- 
tian and natural morality, — which is not inim- 
ical to the general peace and happiness. 



WORKS OF THE SAME AUTHOR 

REPUBLISHED IN BOSTON 
BY MARSH, CAPEN AND LYON. 

I. Phrenology or the doctrine of the mental 
phenomena. Vol. I. Physiological part. Vol. 
II. Philosophical part. 

II. Outlines of Phrenology. 

IIL Elementary principles of Education. 

OTHER WORKS 

PUBLISHED BY THE SAME AUTHOR IN ENGLISH. 

I. Anatomy of the brain, with eleven plates, 
8vo. 14s. 

II. Appendix to the Anatomy of the brain, 
with seven lithographic plates. 3s. 

III. Observations on Insanity. 10s. 

IV. Phrenology in connection with the 
study of physiognomy. Part I. Characters, 
with 34 lithographic plates, Royal 8vo. 22s. 

5. Art. of the For. Quart. Review on phre- 
nology, with notes. Is. 6d. 



h Ibk 82 





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